Chapter 16

I’m translating the chapter with the required HTML structure and will preserve the in-universe bracketed interface text in styled blocks.CHAPTER_TITLE: Something Newly Seen (1)

Mana circulation really did come in many forms.

There was the basic kind, where mana was circulated through the entire body and transformed the whole physique into something combat-ready.

There was also physical reinforcement, where circulation was concentrated into a single part of the body to strengthen it.

But the Melitton family’s mana circulation was a little different.

It began with just one part, then kept that circulation going until it spread through the entire body.

It sounded easy enough in words, but in practice it was an ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠absolutely impossible feat.

Mana that circulated through only one part rotated on that one part alone as its pillar, which meant it could not be spread elsewhere in the first place.

And even if it somehow were spread to another place, mana that did not suit the other parts of the body would roam through him and tear him apart from the inside out.

It was like high-density mana, or pure mana, being unable to adapt to the body and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠shredding it to pieces.

What made that kind of mana circulation possible was the Melitton family’s uniquely flexible yet warm mana.

Flexible mana allowed circulation to begin anywhere at once, while warm mana kept the body heated even in ordinary moments and quickly acclimated it to the mana that had circulated through it.

Because of that, when the Melitton family’s distinctive mana circulation was used, it would start with just one part of the body at first, then the moment that area had fully warmed, the strength of the whole body would surge all at once, and the effect would linger for a long time.

That style of combat showed overwhelming power in both short battles and protracted ones.

That unique mana circulation, the Melittons’ ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠own possession, had been what Lim Paran was using while he dreamed of a nightmare.

That alone was astonishing enough.

But what I remembered most vividly was this.

He had begun that circulation while he was in the middle of a nightmare filled only with pain.

If he had done something like that under normal circumstances, I might have understood.

But I had never seen anything like that from the Lim Paran I had seen today.

He had looked like nothing more than a small, fragile child.

That boy who bowed his head and apologized even when he had done nothing wrong, who whimpered that he hated it when I left.

He was using mana circulation, a technique so difficult that even I had struggled to do it properly for two months after awakening.

Why...

Why would he do it while having a nightmare...?

With that deep question in mind, I returned to the dormitory.

I kept thinking through endless possibilities.

Since waking up two weeks ago, I hadn’t been able to sleep properly.

But last night felt like the first time in a while that I’d slept soundly.

After all that had happened, I’d woken from a nightmare, been comforted by Han Riae, and then fallen asleep again in front of her.

And just a moment ago, bright sunlight had been streaming through the parted curtains and shining on me, which was what woke me up.

Unlike before, today my mind felt clear and clean, as though the fog had lifted.

But something about what I was wearing smelled familiar...

A citron-scented blue jacket...

Ah. I must have slept under this last night.

I could see that the blanket that was supposed to be covering me had already been pushed far away.

I slipped my arms into the blue jacket draped over my shoulders.

It was far too big for my tiny body.

Someone might have said it was too oversized, heavy, and inconvenient.

But the moment I put ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it on, I felt incredibly at ease.

It was just an oversized blue jacket, nothing more.

And yet I liked this large jacket that carried the scent of citron.

The sleeves were so big they covered my fingers, too.

Even so, that couldn’t cancel out how warm and snug this clothes felt.

Feeling much more refreshed, I bought the necessities I needed from the unmanned store and headed back to my dorm.

Come to think of it, I still hadn’t properly seen my dorm room yet.

The reason for that was...

Fainting, fainting, fainting?

No matter how I thought about it, it was ridiculous.

To think I’d passed out three times in one day...

I really had the worst luck.

Or did I?

I did meet Han Riae, so maybe I’m not that unlucky...

"U-um..."

I had just thought something strange.

I quickly shook off the thoughts crowding my head and headed toward the dormitory.

"Th-the gate..."

Standing in front of the portal, I wore an awkward expression and hesitated before stepping through the passage gate.

The sight of the gate brought back bad memories...

Back then, I had followed Han Riae without thinking about it at all.

But then my mind had suddenly gone hazy, and when I came to after fainting in confusion, I had been moved to Han Riae’s room, where she had supported me.

Why had I fainted the moment I passed through that gate?

And this morning, I had received a new ability that might let me find the reason.

In the very moment when I would normally have simply gotten up as usual, something that had not been visible until yesterday began to appear in my eyes.

Colorful wisps were being absorbed around my body.

And there was only one thing around me that could be absorbed.

Mana.

My pure mana kept drawing in the mana around me, imprinting it onto me, and purifying it.

That was why I had been able to accept Han Riae and Miel’s sword dance so easily in their sparring match yesterday.

At the time, I had only noticed that my body was absorbing mana through instinct, but now the mana around me looked like colored heat haze, as if it was showing me directly with my own eyes in case I had failed to notice.

And when I looked at the objects around me that were radiating mana, their mana also began to appear clearly before my eyes.

Blue, yellow, green, red.

The kaleidoscope of mana began to fill my vision completely.

And whenever I didn’t want to see it, I could even adjust it so that only the bare minimum of mana remained visible.

It was a downright broken ability.

Even absolute masters who fought by sensing the mana around them could only perceive that mana through the feeling in their bodies.

But mine was appearing right there in front of my eyes.

And when I looked at the gate with eyes that could now see mana, I was able to roughly understand why I had fainted so suddenly.

Most objects, or things that emitted mana, gave off only one common kind of mana.

But that gate was gushing with a thick haze made of colors I had never seen before.

If my mana, which absorbed every bit of mana around it indiscriminately, began trying to absorb something like that, then of course losing consciousness would be the natural result.

To some extent, the mana I couldn’t absorb would naturally interfere with my mind, and I assumed the shock of it had knocked me out.

Now that I had learned that, I realized rushing onto that gate blindly was not the answer.

First, I had to stop this disgusting mana consumption through mana erosion.

But something like that was obviously not something I could do right now...

Huh?

Why was it working?

When I questioned the common sense I had been taking for granted until just a moment ago, a reaction rippled through my body like ice collapsing all at once.

The moment I thought that I didn’t want it, I was able to control the mana absorption that had been swallowing any mana at all without restraint.

An unfamiliar sensation ran through my body.

This feeling was almost like...

Back when I had the nightmare...

Of course, there was a difference. In the nightmare, I couldn’t sense or absorb any mana at all.

But now I could detect as much of a radius as I wanted, and I could absorb only the kind of mana or magical power I chose.

Then I tried adjusting it so that I wouldn’t absorb mana at all.

"Ugh..."

That unpleasant feeling I knew from the nightmare came flooding back over my body.

It was unpleasant, but I couldn’t help admiring it.

Pure mana was full of advantages, but since it had been swallowing everything around me until now, and now it was sensing and absorbing only the exact amount of mana and magical power I wanted, there was nothing more to say.

Feeling that enormous growth in every fiber of my body, I walked toward the gate.

Put my bracelet here...

"..."

I already knew instinctively that I wouldn’t faint, but yesterday’s memory was enough to make me hesitate.

"T-the dormitory."

Still, I already knew I wouldn’t pass out again, and giving up here would be pointless since the dormitory was physically far too distant.

Even by taking Kairel’s flying car, it would take a full hour to get there.

It wasn’t a place a person could possibly walk to.

So I summoned my courage and spoke through the fear.

The instant those words appeared, a white aura rose up and enveloped my body.

The difference from last time was that I could now understand what this white aura was.

It had the exact same nature as the mana the vice principal, Mahiel, used when leaving.

So Mahiel had used this complicated, hard-to-grasp mass of mana, the same one I had almost absorbed and fainted from, to move when she appeared at the entrance ceremony and again when she left it, generating it twice in total.

When I thought about it like that, the vice principal was still the vice principal, I supposed.

But that thought only lasted an instant.

In the blink of an eye, I had arrived in the dormitory lobby.

My body felt a little lightheaded and I nearly gagged, but it was nothing like the shock that had made me lose consciousness yesterday.

"Oh... it worked...."

With a satisfied expression, I walked lightly toward my room.