Ancient City Arville (6)
A massive stone chamber appeared as they ascended to the next floor. This was a place they should have reached before the lower level under normal circumstances.
Calix ran his finger along the walls, which were shattered and gouged, utterly wrecked, as he walked slowly.
Finally, at the corner, there lay ancient bones slumped against the wall, as if dead. Lifting his gaze to the opposite corner revealed another skeleton in a similar pose.
"No discrepancies from my memory so far..."
Calix first unfurled the cloak that had bound Laila and spread it on the floor. He carefully laid her upon it, then approached the nearest skeleton.
Up close, he saw a sword that had pierced between the ribs, half-embedded in the wall. It revealed the cause of death for the skeleton's owner.
The clothes it had worn had long rotted away, leaving only a few animal bones and odds and ends scattered on the floor. The only thing retaining its original form was a blue orb near the pelvic bone.
Type: Spirit Pill
Material: Crystallized Mana
Grade:S-grade
Ancient shamans carried a small orb of crystallized mana within their bodies throughout their lives. This was called a 'sarira,' and upon their death, their successor would swallow and absorb it.
"My memory holds true after all."
Pocketing the orb, Calix approached the skeleton on the opposite side. Half its upper body was missing, the cut ragged as if torn by a beast.
But Calix knew this one had emerged victorious. A skillbook lay neatly beside it.
Regrettably, even this victor hadn't lived long afterward.
Type: Mana Breathing Method
Grade:S-grade Unique
Features: Allows unrestricted use of all weapon techniques and magic.
"Never imagined I'd get this so soon. Lucky break. The S-grade unique mana breathing method said to be the strongest in the human realm... Haha!"
A satisfied laugh escaped him as he opened the skillbook.
Then, a small note fluttered out with a thud!
Unfolding it revealed a letter written in blood.
The gods desired it, yet I could not reach it in the end. Surely due to my lacking faith. From the start, I couldn't cast aside my doubts to the very end—how could I succeed? My love...
Calix read only that far before crumpling the letter. Its contents matched exactly what he knew from the game.
No need to reread it, and he had zero intention of honoring the skillbook owner's request.
He began reciting the preface to learn the skillbook.
"A single ray of light in the darkness, a warm breath defying the north wind, a song of hope resounding on the battlefield."
"Raven feathers fall like rain, drenching the Robelia flowers. Now the black moon eclipses the sun—though day turns to night, harbor no resentment."
⟨ Kantum Secrum ⟩
In that instant.
Calix witnessed an illusion: a pebble dropped into a serene lake, ripples spreading outward across the whole.
Or perhaps it was his intuitive grasp of what was unfolding in his mana hole right then.
The ripples grew into massive waves.
They drastically altered the lake's inflows and outflows.
Some channels widened and strengthened; others collapsed.
New paths even opened.
The stagnant water in the lake began to flow along these paths. At first a small, shallow stream, it soon swelled into enormous waves.
In that moment, Calix felt as if he'd awakened to a new sense beyond his five. Something transparent flowed gently between his fingers.
Mana.
But this alone wasn't enough.
To reach Class 4, he needed time to memorize this sensation and, through steady training, acclimate his body and mind to a consistent mana flow.
It certainly wouldn't happen overnight.
Grrrooowl!
His stomach rumbled thunderously, hunger hitting him like madness. Come to think of it, he had no idea how much time had passed or how long he'd gone without food.
Rummaging through his inventory, he found a few strips of jerky. Calix chewed them methodically, lost in thought.
"First, I need to extract the larva from Laila... But can she hold out?"
The problem was how much time had elapsed since entering this place.
Thanks to blacking out twice, he'd only checked his status window to learn about five days had passed inside the earthworm's belly.
Calix could tough it out now by eating from his inventory, but unconscious Laila couldn't.
Her lips were already cracked and bluish.
"No choice. Feed her some spirit herbs to buy time, then figure it out slowly."
Calix pulled out the spirit herbs Krout had dug from the cliff. Still fresh as if just harvested, thanks to the inventory.
"But how do I feed her this?"
Pondering with the herbs in hand, Calix tapped his temple.
"When in doubt, mother's love—mouth to mouth it is."
In that instant, Laila's face loomed massively before him. Long lashes, a nose rivaling celebrities', deep crimson lips...
Calix realized anew just how stunningly beautiful she was.
"Hmm... This is basically artificial respiration. Yeah, yeah."
Nodding to himself, he stuffed the herbs into his mouth. He chewed vigorously with puffed cheeks. Bitter as hell, yet the taste barely registered.
Chomp, chomp.
Chomp, chomp.
Chomp, chomp.
Finally, with the herbs reduced to a thick paste filling his mouth, Calix approached Laila.
Unable to face her visage filling his view, he squeezed his eyes shut.
Tap, tap.
Tap, tap, tap.
The rough sensation against his lips made Calix crack his eyes open. There, peeking from Laila's slightly parted mouth, was the larva.
Its body bristled with thousands of repulsive hairs, stirring maximum disgust.
"Gah!"
He jolted back, tumbling ass-over-kettle. In the process, he swallowed the herb paste gulpingly.
Sitting dazed for a moment, Calix snapped alert as scorching heat surged in his chest.
"Damn it all!"
He frantically flipped open the skillbook.
Even a genius who memorized at a glance couldn't perfectly execute the training from sensation alone.
The book detailed the mana breathing method with simple diagrams. He scanned desperately, but before finishing even once—
BOOM!
His spine stiffened from tailbone to neck, gaze forced skyward. Agonizing pain gaped his mouth wide; his clenched fists drew blood dripping from his palms.
"Grahk!"
His rigid body convulsed like a quaking aspen. Forcing it to move, Calix opened the skillbook.
At first, fireworks exploding in his skull scattered his focus—eyes darting wildly, unable to read a single word.
But survival demanded he read and comprehend. Gritting through, letter by letter, his scattered mind began coalescing.
Only for a moment. Trials kept assaulting.
Without a proper mana hole, the spirit herb's power rampaged, seeking space.
The immense force battered his insides, cracking his body.
Crack! Crunch!
Muscles and bones screamed. He gaped silently, speechless.
'At this rate, I'll really die. Think! How did game characters handle this?'
A game flashback surfaced: the young dark prince learning swordsmanship from Sorbeil Marquis.
"Your Highness, abandon greed. Mana is like water—it slips away the harder you grasp."
"Empty yourself. Nature abhors a vacuum. It will fill of its own accord—wait for it."
'Nature abhors a vacuum... So release the spirit herb's power I'm forcibly holding?' Easier said than done. Letting go now felt like a balloon inflating to burst!
'Does Sorbeil Marquis's advice even apply here? What if not?'
Doubts chained. Meanwhile, internal pressure mounted.
Pshh!
Capillaries burst in his eyes, bloody tears flowing. Blood streamed from nose and bitten lips.
No more delay.
'This herb was meant for Laila originally? If not for that damn larva!'
Fuming, inspiration struck Calix like lightning.
'Wait, just pass it to her now?'
Two ways to transfer excess energy: palm-to-mana-hole with intent (both open, donor skilled)—impossible for him.
Only one left: mucosal contact.
Normally he'd hesitate, but time was nil. He'd go mad otherwise.
Desperately crawling to Laila, he pried her lips apart.
Poke.
'This bastard?'
The vanished larva peeked out again. The fuzzy-haired thing nearly made him hurl.
Suppressing nausea, Calix reached—but sensing threat, it vanished into her mouth in a blink.
'How to deal with it? No time...'
Pressure infinite, agony eternal per second.
No choice: cradling her nape, he lifted her pallid face close.
Seeing the larva between parted lips, he shut his eyes and pressed his mouth to hers.
Shwooooosh—
His rampaging mana poured into Laila's mouth of its own accord.
Like a drained tub's vortex, a massive flow surged through Calix.
It swept every last mana fragment from his body.
Finally empty, new change began.
'Huh... what?'
Mana now flooded back in. Only then did Calix truly grasp Sorbeil Marquis's teaching.
Nature abhors a vacuum.
His body refilled, pressure building. Taut as a drum, yet less painful than expected.
Rather, a refreshing moisture permeated every corner.
Time passed; mana ebbed like tide.
Unlike before, some remained.
Thus mana shuttled between Laila and Calix repeatedly. Meaning their lips stayed locked that long.