Chapter 223: It Really Came Out
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 223: It Really Came Out
'I can't tell if I'm babysitting or exploring a labyrinth anymore.'
It was around 9:00 AM when I entered the labyrinth early this morning. In just one day, I had reached the 50th floor, defeated the Horus, and was now on my way back to the surface.
Of course, I had skipped floors 21 through 39 entirely thanks to the artifact Aurora gave me, but even so, I was heading back much earlier than expected.
—Zzz...
He’d woken up quite early this morning, but as the sun began to set, Father had succumbed to sleep, claiming he was tired.
As a result, I was currently making my way to the surface with a Horus egg tucked into a makeshift papoose made of stretched leather on my back, while cradling Father in my arms.
"Gasp...! G-good work, sir!"
At the 25th Floor Base, it seemed almost all the guards recognized me now. It made sense, considering they were employees of the guild. Given what I’d done at the Guild Headquarters, it would be stranger if they didn't know me.
Their expressions were filled with questions as they watched me walk by with a kid in my arms and a giant egg strapped to my back. I wasn't sure if they were just too intimidated to speak, but they simply stepped aside and let me through the portal without a word.
"Yes, keep up the good work."
* * *
"Is it 11:00 PM?"
It was 11:00 PM by the time I stepped out of the labyrinth portal and reached the surface. I hurried back to the inn, only to be greeted by a surprise.
"Dora?"
"Aven? You're back much earlier than I thought. Did you fail to reach the 50th floor?"
"No. I went and came back."
I turned my body slightly to show her the egg on my back. Theodora stared at it blankly for a moment before her eyes widened in shock.
"An e-egg! Is that a Horus egg?!"
"You could say that."
"A Horus egg?!!"
Ravi, who had practically become a member of the inn's household by now, came running over after overhearing us. Her eyes were perfectly round as she circled behind me to inspect the egg closely.
"Is it r-really a Horus egg?!"
"Yes, it is."
"I can't believe it... You actually took down a Horus that was brooding an egg?"
"That's just how things turned out. Ravi, could you please take Father to his room?"
"O-oh, okay!"
Ravi scurried off, dragging Father toward the room. Shortly after, Sera emerged from the kitchen after finishing the dishes. She froze the moment she saw the massive egg sitting in the middle of the dining area.
"W-what is this, Yoo Eon...?"
"It's a large monster egg."
"I see... W-what are you going to do with it?"
"If I can hatch it, I will. If not, I'll either fry it up or sell it."
"Who on earth would fry a Horus egg?!"
Theodora, listening from the side, gasped in horror. Even Tresha, who had been lying in bed, came out to the dining area with Walter perched on her head and looked on in shock.
"O-oppa! If an egg is that big, it'll definitely try to eat us!"
"Hmm. Still, don't creatures usually recognize the first person they see as their parent?"
That’s how most things born from eggs work, isn't it? They crack out into the world and imprint on the first face they see. I wasn't sure if a Horus would do the same, given their high intelligence.
But that was the general idea, anyway.
"Everyone, wait just a moment."
I stepped out of the inn and into a side alley to summon Iris. It might look strange to others, and I didn't want to invite more misunderstandings.
"Iris."
"Yeah."
"Put some clothes on first. I brought a Horus egg to the surface. What should I do with it?"
"Good job. I need that."
"Why didn't you tell me earlier?"
"Because you didn't tell me there was an egg."
"Hmm. Fair point."
Iris, who had appeared naked, began pulling clothes out of her storage artifact and putting them on before following me back into the inn.
"Ah, um...? This person is..."
"Hello, big-chested daughter."
"Pardon? Oh, hello..."
"Oh? Master? Welcome!"
"Yeah."
Sera and Iris were already acquainted. Iris's way of addressing her was incredibly strange, but I decided to correct that later. Tresha bowed politely to Iris, her magic teacher.
"So, what do you think? Is it going to hatch?"
"All Horus eggs hatch. There are no unfertilized ones."
"I see. That's news to me."
Ravi, who had been struggling to get Father into his room, returned to the dining area. Surprisingly, Ravi was the type of kid Iris found difficult to handle. Iris's personality was a poor match for Ravi's "500% pure curiosity" interrogation style.
"This is amazing! Do you know about the ecology of the Horus?! As expected of a great mage! I have so many things I'm curious about!"
"Quiet."
"Ack, yes!"
Iris spent some time circling the Horus egg on the floor before she began tapping the shell with her knuckles.
"Did you find anything out?"
"Not particularly. Just things I already knew."
"Which are?"
"It needs mana."
"You have plenty of that, Iris."
Without a doubt, Iris was the person with the most mana here. Of course, she was pouring a lot of her power into her disguise to avoid being caught by others, but even with those restrictions, she was still the unified monarch of an entire race.
"It has to be your mana."
"My mana again? What do I need to do?"
Following Iris's instructions, I summoned Amelia's mana core—the one with the most overflowing mana among all the cores I possessed.
"No, not that."
"Huh? Then what?"
"Not the ones you ate. Your real mana."
"...My mana?"
Through the skills I possessed, I had constantly consumed the mana cores of monsters. I had long since learned how to draw mana from those consumed cores and use it.
By now, I was so accustomed to it that it wouldn't be strange to call it my own mana.
"My mana... Hmm, I don't recall ever using it."
Back when I didn't have mana cores, I had increased my combat power using only my muscles, blood, and bones. That had been enough to handle most problems, so I truly had no memory of using my own innate mana.
"What do you mean, Aven? You use magic all the time."
"No, everything I've used was stolen. I've never actually used my own mana."
"What?! You mean Yoo Eon couldn't even use mana?! I can't believe it!"
Ravi scurried over to my side, a mischievous grin on her face as she poked me in the ribs. Little brat.
"Sigh, let me just try it once."
If you asked if there was mana in my body, the answer was obviously yes. They say all living creatures in this world possess mana. And generally speaking, I hadn't just eaten monsters; I had killed them too.
I must have absorbed small amounts of mana from the monsters I killed and made it my own. Given that, it was better to assume that mana did exist within me.
"So, I just need to emit mana through my own strength without using any other mana cores, right?"
"Yeah."
"If it's too hard, I'll help you, Aven."
"Thanks, Dora. That's a big help."
"I-is there anything I can do to help...?"
"Hmm."
Theodora seemed to know a lot about how to use mana. Of course, the person who knew the most about it would be Iris, but Iris was notoriously bad at teaching others.
In that sense, Tresha, who was learning magic from Iris, could be considered unfortunate. Still, the title of 'Disciple of the Vampire Lord' wasn't something one could easily obtain, though Tresha herself probably didn't realize it.
"Sigh, whew... Wait a second. What exactly am I supposed to do with the mana?"
"Inject it into the egg."
"Into the egg? Mana? Why?"
"Just because."
It was an incredibly irresponsible reason, but since it came from Iris, I just went with it. It wasn't because I thought there was some deep hidden meaning; I just knew Iris lacked communication skills.
I extended my right palm and placed it on the top of the Horus egg, taking a couple of deep breaths. This was the first time I was attempting to use mana without bringing a mana core to the surface of my body.
Just as I had gained the knowledge of Aura Blade and swordsmanship after obtaining the Haunted Centurion Armor's mana core, I could somehow absorb the proficiency of monsters whose mana cores I equipped.
But right now, I was using my own body entirely. My proficiency was that of a complete novice who had never properly circulated mana even once.
"Hmm..."
"It's hard, isn't it?! Realizing how to use magic for the first time is the most difficult part!"
"Sigh."
Ravi kept chattering beside me, seemingly wanting to tell me how to do it, but I wanted to focus.
"Ravi, be quiet for a moment."
"Ah, um. Okay! Magic is something that must be used with great care, after all!"
At Sera's intervention, Ravi sat quietly in a chair. At some point, Auntie had also come out and was sitting by the desk, watching me. With six people watching, I felt a fair amount of psychological pressure.
If you counted the non-humans, there were eight. Sola and Walter were watching too.
"Good luck, Hero!"
—Kee-roo-roo-rook!
Just how does one use mana? It was a basic question for someone who had reached Cobalt Grade, but for me, who had spent my time siphoning the magic and proficiency of others, it was far from easy.
'How do I use magic again?'
After I spent some time unable to find my bearings, everyone started looking sleepy. It was quite late, and it was time for everyone to head to bed. Besides, shouldn't Dora and Iris be heading back?
"Dora, is it okay if you don't go back?"
"I'm staying here tonight. Sera's room got bigger."
"Ah, I see."
"You don't look very happy about it."
"No, it's great. What about Iris?"
"Eat me."
"Please stop saying such weird things."
The gazes of Sera and Theodora, who were listening nearby, turned ice-cold. I really needed to clear up these misunderstandings.
"I'm sorry. I don't think I'll get it tonight. Why don't we all head to bed? It's not like this thing is going to hatch suddenly tonight."
"Well, that's true! Hatching has its own timing!"
"Shouldn't we at least cover it with a blanket for now?"
"That sounds like a good idea."
Since it was summer, the night air wasn't cold. But just in case, it was better to keep it a bit warm.
"Alright, everyone, go to sleep. We're closed for the day."
"That's too bad..."
"If you're still stuck later, I'll teach you!"
Tresha looked disappointed, while Ravi stood tall with her hands on her hips, puffing out her chest. Regardless of the circumstances, I was grateful for the offer to help.
"Yeah, see you tomorrow. Goodnight, everyone."
* * *
I said all that, but I had a feeling about this egg. I didn't know why, but it felt like it would hatch soon. However, just as Iris said, it felt like it was unable to hatch because it lacked mana.
I had left the egg covered with a blanket in a hidden spot in the backyard. I had been so worried about it all night that I couldn't even sleep properly.
"Whew, let's try again."
After waking up from a bit of sleep, my head felt clearer than it had last night.
"Mana... Mana, huh..."
A mana core plays a role similar to a human heart. Blood circulates through the body, carrying mana absorbed through the skin from the air to the heart, and the heart helps convert that collected mana into something the individual can use.
The performance of a mana core is determined by how much mana it can convert into one's own without loss.
And magic is simply using that converted mana as fuel.
What I needed to do now wasn't magic; it was simply releasing the mana I possessed. It was much easier than before.
—Whirrr...
"Oh."
As I closed my eyes and focused my mind, I felt mana moving toward my fingertips. My own mana, being used for the very first time.
—Crack...
"It's... it's cracking...!"
I pulled my hand away immediately, but the cracks in the eggshell continued to grow. This wasn't because I had instinctively used attack magic and cracked the egg with the impact.
—Tap, tap...
"Iris?"
"Good job."
Iris had also stayed the night in a guest room since it was too late for her to head back. I didn't know how she knew, but she approached and watched the egg hatch alongside me.
Before long, a piece of the cracked eggshell fell away, revealing the interior.
"Uh, uh-oh."
It really came out.
"Is this the birth of Bak Hyeokgeose?"
Now wasn't the time for that.
"Iris. Hurry up and get something to cover it with."
"Okay."
"No, you shouldn't be taking off your own clothes!"
