Chapter 123: Settlement (2)
Chapter 123: Settlement (2)
“Resonance—the characteristic of the Lintblum Core. You said I could start learning it soon, right?”
Until now, I had simply used my massive mana pool to spam spells.
Now, it was time to use it to actually increase their power.
There was the method of Charge Chanting, but that had its limits.
Upon hearing my words, Carla’s expression went blank for a moment. Then, she suddenly bolted upright and asked, “You’re going to learn it?!”
“Yeah.”
“Hooray!”
Carla threw her arms up in the air and cheered.
Her ruby-colored eyes sparkled with such intensity that it was clear she was beyond overjoyed.
“Are you really that happy?”
“Of course! This means you’ve been born with the same constitution as the progenitor of the Lindelheit family, you’ve mastered the Lindelheit breathing technique, and now you’re inheriting the Lindelheit secret arts! How could I not be happy?!”
I understood what she was trying to say. But seeing her bounce around like that honestly made me want to tease her.
I put on the most dejected expression I could muster and nodded slowly.
“I see. So Carla only saw me as a tool for the family’s revival…”
“…Eh?”
Sensing that something had gone wrong, Carla flinched.
Of course, I had no intention of stopping there.
I clutched my chest lightly like a man who had been deeply wounded and continued.
“I thought I’d been really good to you. Even though you’re a slave, I didn’t think I treated you like one. But I guess I was wrong. You just saw me as a means to an end…”
“M-Master?! No! That’s not it! How could I ever think of you that way?! It’s a misunderstanding!”
A startled Carla hurriedly grabbed my arm and shook her head vigorously.
Watching her platinum-blonde hair flutter with every frantic movement, I had to fight to keep a smile from breaking through.
I forced my lips into a frown and whipped my head away as if I were truly pouting.
“Hmph! Fine. I’m not playing with Carla anymore. I only need Elisha.”
“Huh? Me…?”
Elisha, who had been watching the situation with a bewildered expression, pointed at herself in confusion when her name was called.
I gave a firm nod and buried my head into Elisha’s lap.
“Yeah. You, Elisha.”
“Uh… ahem. Well…”
Elisha was momentarily flustered by me nuzzling into her chest like a child.
However, after seeing Carla’s frantic state, a sly, thin smile spread across her face.
“Oh my? Carla, how could you say such cruel things to Yandel?”
“What?! I told you, that’s not it! It’s not that I’m happy the family secret is being passed down, it’s that I’m happy Master is being dyed in the colors of Lindelheit!”
Wow.
That was an embarrassing thing to say in its own right.
Carla herself seemed too frantic to realize exactly what she had just blurted out.
Regardless, Elisha ignored Carla’s protest and pulled my head closer into her embrace.
Then, sensing an opportunity, she whispered into my ear in a sweet voice.
“Yandel. My dear. You must have suffered so much. Don’t worry. I’m not like Carla. Let Master worry about the Magic Tower. I’ll always put you first.”
“Elisha, you…!”
Carla trembled with a sense of betrayal, looking as if she were being NTR’d right before her eyes.
But Elisha seemed to enjoy Carla’s reaction even more.
She continued to shower me with affection and physical contact quite pointedly, and every time she did, Carla stomped her feet with a tearful face.
Occasionally, Carla would call out to me in a desperate, pleading voice.
“Masteeer…”
“Hmph.”
“Waaaaah!!”
When I ignored her and pressed closer to Elisha, Carla looked as if her entire world had collapsed.
It was only after teasing her for a good while longer that we were finally able to begin the training.
*
“Hic… Then, I will now explain the principles of Resonance.”
“…Are you going to explain while we’re still hugging?”
“Yes.”
In the private training room inside the dormitory. Sitting in the center, I gently stroked the back of the sobbing Carla.
With every stroke of my hand, her whimpering quickly subsided.
“Sorry. Your reaction was just so funny, I couldn't help myself...”
“Since you’ve acknowledged it, Master, I’m fine. …Just you wait, Elisha.”
Carla shot a sharp glare at Elisha, who was sitting next to us. Her gaze was quite fierce.
Elisha, however, simply shrugged it off with a nonchalant air.
Seeing that composed attitude, Carla let out a deep sigh and began her explanation.
“Ahem. Anyway, I’m going to teach you Resonance, the characteristic of the Lintblum Core… but before that. Master, how much do you know about Resonance?”
“Not much. I just know it’s called Resonance, literally.”
I could learn the Lintblum breathing technique in H&A.
Naturally, I had opened the description window for its characteristic, Resonance, at least once.
“Doesn’t it literally mean resonating your core with external mana to draw in more mana than you actually possess?”
“That’s mostly correct! Then, do you know how it draws in the surrounding mana, or why we use Resonance instead of Charge Chanting?”
“…That’s what I’m here to learn.”
Those kinds of details didn't appear in the game. That was why there was still a mountain of things left for me to learn at the Academy.
Carla let out a cute, proud little cough and continued.
“Then I’ll start the explanation from here, Master. If there’s anything you don’t understand, feel free to ask immediately! First, as for the ‘how’…”
According to Carla, the Lintblum Core was quite unique compared to other mana cores.
It wasn't just about performance; the fundamental structure itself was different.
A typical mana core isn't an actual physical organ, but a virtual one created near the heart.
This utilizes the uncertainty of mana, which exists and yet does not exist at the same time.
For example, if I were to release all of my mana, it would probably fill this entire training room.
But how could that much mana be contained within a small body like mine?
It’s simple.
Mana certainly exists, but it doesn't always maintain a physical form.
That’s why the impossible feat of fitting a lake into a single cup is achievable.
Considering the role of safely containing a massive amount of mana, it’s only natural for a mana core to be a virtual organ.
However, the Lintblum Core is a bit different.
The mana core, which should be a virtual organ, is semi-materialized in the form of rings surrounding the heart.
Because of this, mana—which normally should only respond to one’s will—ends up responding to the physical body as well.
That’s why when I start operating my mana in earnest, I become intensely aware of my heartbeat.
“It’s a structure that could be called somewhat malformed, but there’s an unavoidable reason for it.”
“Because of the progenitor’s constitution, right?”
“Exactly! Come to think of it, you also had the same Mana Insensitivity Constitution, Master.”
Carla nodded as if she understood perfectly.
Well, I didn't have as deep an understanding of the Mana Insensitivity Constitution as the progenitor did.
Still, I had felt something when I first learned the Lintblum breathing technique.
The moment my heart began to beat in a different way, I felt a faint sense of refreshment.
That feeling, as if mana were being drawn in by the heartbeat, was likely the root of Resonance.
As if to confirm my suspicion, Carla continued her explanation.
“Since the Progenitor couldn't feel mana, he naturally couldn't handle it either. However, the mana within his body was excessive to a fault.”
“He gained a hint from that. He thought that even if mana responds to human will, if it’s contained within a human body, shouldn't it be possible to handle it through the body rather than the will?”
“The conclusion reached from that line of thinking was to tune the vibrations of the body to resonate with mana.”
“And where is the place in our body that beats the strongest?”
The heart.
Ultimately, the Lintblum breathing technique is about making the heart beat in a specific way to make the mana within and around the body resonate with the physical form.
Even if the will cannot sense it, it cannot stop what is physically felt by the body.
If that were the case, it wouldn't be Mana Insensitivity, but rather a constitution like mana immunity or being a non-conductor.
Regardless, feeling it with the body even once was enough. From then on, one just had to feel and handle mana in the same way.
Elisha, who had been listening from the side, let out a deep sigh and shook her head.
“That’s truly absurd. Even if it’s theoretically possible, how did he actually implement it? It’s like saying that because a finger can be cut by a thin piece of paper, you’ll use paper as a substitute for a sword.”
“That’s why the Progenitor was amazing! And you, who were born with the same constitution, will become amazing too, Master!”
…And now I’m being brought into this?
Carla hugged me tightly, rubbing her ample chest against my torso.
At that sight, Elisha gave a small smirk and nodded.
“He has to. No, he has to become even more amazing. After all, Yandel has me and Master, doesn't he?”
“That’s a bit of a burden.”
“But you’ll be able to do it. Because we’ll make sure of it.”
At Elisha’s confident attitude, Carla puffed out her cheeks slightly and nodded.
“I don’t really like the idea of other magic leaving its mark… but since it’s good for Master, I suppose it can’t be helped.”
She then cleared her throat with a couple of coughs.
“Ahem. Anyway, now that we know the root of the Lintblum breathing technique lies in Resonance, the question is how to utilize it.”
“…I think I have a rough idea? Isn't it about maximizing the resonance through the heartbeat to draw in even more external mana?”
But once again, Carla denied it with an ambiguous expression.
“That’s a liiittle bit off. In the grand scheme of things—or rather, to an outsider—it might look that way, but the reality is a bit different.”
“Different?”
“Yes. If it were just that, how would it be any different from Charge Chanting?”
“Ah.”
Come to think of it, Charge Chanting was also a technique that delayed the spell to cram in more mana.
No matter how much external mana was drawn in through resonance, it would just be Charge Chanting with a lower mana cost.
However, Charge Chanting had its limits.
Since the components of the magic remained the same and only mana was being crammed in, there was a limit to the reinforcement.
If mana exceeding that limit was injected, the magic itself would collapse. Or go berserk.
“What I’m about to explain is the difference between reinforcement through Charge Chanting and reinforcement through Resonance.”
“That seems to be the core of it.”
“As expected of Master! You have good intuition! Exactly. This is where the truly important content begins, so listen carefully.”
Having said that, Carla gently extended her palm into the air.
“Tinder.”
Fwoosh.
A very familiar basic spell. Tinder became a small flame and danced upon Carla’s hand.
“This is the spell used normally.”
She clenched her fist to extinguish the spark and immediately began to gather more mana.
“Tinder.”
Fwoooooosh!
A spark nearly twice the size of the previous one flared up.
“That’s Charge Chanting, right?”
“Yes. I’ve reinforced it to its limit. If I poured any more mana into it, it would just go pop! and explode.”
After waving her hand to extinguish the spark again, Carla extended her hand once more.
Then, she stared forward with a serious expression.
There was no way an intermediate magician would concentrate this deeply just to use a single basic spell.
Sure enough.
Thump!
My heart beat of its own accord, and I began to perceive the phenomenon occurring before my eyes.
It was the illusion of ripples spreading through the world, centered around Carla.
Perhaps because we shared the same core, I felt a strange, almost magnetic pull from Carla in her current state.
And then.
“Tinder!”
FWHAAAAAA—!!
A flame of a size that could no longer be called a basic spell heated the interior of the training room.
But there was something else that caught my attention.
It was the bizarre sensation that all the mana around Carla was immolating itself for the sake of that spell.
“This is magic reinforced through Resonance. How is it? It’s a bit different, right?”
“Yeah… it’s hard to explain exactly how it’s different, but it’s definitely not just about putting in more mana. That much is certain.”
As I nodded blankly, Carla puffed out her chest with a proud look.
“Of course! This is because it resonated with the mana and, at the same time, resonated with the magic itself.”
“Is that even possible?”
“I did it, so it must be possible. You’ll be able to do it soon too, Master.”
“…How?”
“By feel? Unlike Lady Iris’s element combinations, there isn't exactly a formula for this! It’ll just happen eventually if you keep trying!”
As she said that, Carla was smiling brightly.
Like someone who didn't have the slightest doubt that I might fail.
“E-Elisha…”
Feeling burdened, I turned to Elisha for help, but she simply shrugged her shoulders.
“I told you before, didn't I? The Lindelheit bloodline is just a cheat.”
“…….”
So that’s what she meant.
I understood perfectly.