Elixir, Twice Over
I could see at night.
Absolute Perception
My sight was sealed.
All my senses except sight developed to the absolute limit.
When night came, vision was restored, and my sixth sense awakened.
That was how the skill worked.
Thanks to it, I was finally able to face Medeia directly for the first time.
She was looking at me with her face hidden behind a veil.
I couldn’t make out her features clearly through the gauze, but I could see her eyes without fail.
Green.
Beautiful green.
And yet somehow eerie too—eyes that held a contradiction all their own.
As I stood there staring blankly at her, Medeia spoke first.
“How did you know?”
“Know what?”
“That it was me.”
Medeia seemed surprised that I’d recognized her.
I answered honestly.
“There’s always a faint scent of flowers around you, my lady. I caught that scent, and I knew right away it was you.”
“A scent of flowers?”
Medeia reflexively lifted her arm and sniffed it.
Then she tilted her head.
“I don’t smell anything like flowers.”
“My nose is a little sensitive.”
“……”
After that, an awkward silence settled between us.
This time, I spoke first.
“But what brings you all the way to my room?”
“Ah.”
As if she’d just remembered, Medeia reached into her bosom and took something out.
She seemed about to hand it to me, but couldn’t quite bring herself to step closer.
She looked as though she were afraid of something.
At that sight, I slowly walked toward her.
If she couldn’t come to me, then I could go to her.
With every step I took, Medeia’s shoulders twitched.
She seemed afraid of getting closer to me.
And yet she didn’t run away.
“……”
“……”
Before I knew it, there were fewer than three steps left between Medeia and me.
Only then did her figure, hidden beyond the veil, come fully into view.
Ssssss.
Shhhhh.
Green snakes writhing inside the veil caught my eye.
It was the sort of sight that would’ve brought a mythological monster to mind, but I felt nothing.
I wasn’t afraid when I looked at her eyes. I wasn’t repulsed, either.
Sixth Sense
To my eyes, her true form was only that of a victim suffering under a curse.
Never a monster.
“...Don’t come any closer.”
“I won’t.”
Just as Medeia wished, I stood still where I was and didn’t move.
Then I waited.
For her to come to me first.
At last, she slowly held out the box toward me.
“Take it.”
“What is it?”
“An elixir.”
“What?”
At her words, I couldn’t help but be shocked.
An elixir?
“Why would you give something so precious to me...?”
Just like Bella, Medeia was casually handing over an elixir for my sake.
That’s... a lot of pressure.
Yeah, it was pressure.
I found myself doubting whether I was worth that much at all.
“Bella told me. She said you were given an elixir.”
“...Yes.”
“There’s no way I can’t do what Bella did. So take it.”
Medeia shoved the box, with its elixir inside, toward me as if thrusting it into my hands.
Taking it by reflex, I looked at Medeia.
She was looking back at me too.
“Kael.”
“Yes, my lady.”
“You’re mine. My slave, and my butler.”
After taking a brief breath, Medeia said it with quiet force.
“So don’t die.”
Silence fell for a moment.
“...That’s an order.”
The final words came out slightly unsteady.
“Yes.”
I smiled.
“I’ll definitely come back alive.”
After Medeia left, I went back into my room and opened the box.
Click.
Inside was a glass bottle larger than the one Bella had given me during the day.
“So that’s what color it was.”
Thanks to the night and my restored sight, I could finally see the elixir’s color.
It was a liquid glowing blue.
Had someone mixed in stardust or something?
Either way, it looked mysterious.
Pop.
Without hesitation, I opened the cap on the elixir.
Then I downed it in one go.
“Ghk... still awful.”
A bright blue glow surged through the bottle’s contents.
Effect:Mana activation and accelerated growth
Duration:Immediate
Along with that intense bitterness, a status window appeared.
Mana
I consumed a high-grade elixir.
My mana was activated.
At that moment, a hot surge shot up from deep inside my body.
“Kgh.”
It rampaged inside me violently, like a roaring blaze.
“Kraaaagh!”
A scream tore out of me.
It felt as though my insides were being seared with fire.
How long did that horrific pain last?
Mana (F)
I’d obtained a skill.
“Huff, huff... I thought I was going to die.”
It was a dreadful pain I never wanted to experience again.
Still, I hadn’t gained nothing.
This was the force knights used to coat their swords in aura, and the power mages used to cast spells.
Mana.
I’d gained that.
Just as I was feeling satisfied with that, another window appeared.
├─ Tier 1:[Base ability] ✓
├─ Tier 2:[Enhanced ability] ✓
└─ Tier 3:[New ability — UNLOCKED] ★
The elixir’s effect was still lingering.
“Huh.”
I’d already been satisfied just getting mana, and now I could even raise a skill’s proficiency?
So this is what high-grade means, huh?
Whatever the case, it was a good thing.
Which one should I raise?
I considered boosting Evasion, but my sparring with Derick had shown me there wasn’t much point in raising it any further.
That left me with two choices: Basic Swordsmanship or Mana.
I didn’t have to think long.
[The proficiency of your mana skill has increased.]
[Mana (F) → Mana (E)]
My mana proficiency went up.
Once again, hot energy surged through my body, but this time it was bearable.
The skill had grown, and with it, I’d built up some resistance.
“Hah...”
I felt stronger.
Right then, I had the confidence that I could even land a blow on Derick if we sparred now.
That was how powerful mana felt.
But I couldn’t stop here.
If I wanted to live up to Bella, Derick, and Medeia’s expectations, I had to get stronger.
Basic Swordsmanship
The next day.
After taking care of Medeia’s breakfast as usual, I headed for the training yard.
As always, Derick was already there, training before anyone else.
Watching him swing his sword without missing a single day made me think again that being a knight wasn’t something just anyone could do.
At length, sensing my arrival, Derick stopped training and came over to me.
“You’re early.”
“There aren’t many days left. I should train hard.”
“That’s true as well—what?”
Derick cut himself off midsentence and suddenly grabbed my shoulder.
He squeezed so hard I nearly screamed.
He stared all over my body with wide eyes.
The look in them was almost frightening.
“...Mana?”
“Pardon?”
“How did you end up with mana?”
Only then did I understand why he was reacting like that.
Well, a guy who had had not even a speck of mana yesterday suddenly showing up with it the very next day would be shocking.
It would’ve been strange if he hadn’t been surprised.
I told Derick everything that had happened the previous night.
Meeting Medeia.
Receiving the elixir.
And drinking it, only to awaken mana.
“That’s how it happened.”
“I see... So the young lady...”
Derick fell silent for a moment, lost in thought.
Then he slowly opened his eyes and drew his real sword instead of the wooden one.
“Now that you have mana, we can move a bit faster.”
“Are we sparring with real swords?”
“No.”
“Then what?”
“I’ll teach you how to handle aura.”
With that, Derick began pouring mana into his sword.
Vwoom.
Derick’s mana and the blade resonated with each other, releasing a low hum.
And then.
Aura layered itself over Derick’s sword.
Though I couldn’t see it with my eyes, every sense beyond sight clearly perceived its presence.
“This is aura. Even if you can’t see it, you should be able to feel it now that you’ve gained mana.”
I could feel it all right.
It swayed in perfect calm, but inside that stillness I sensed a destructive power beyond imagination.
“Gulp.”
I swallowed dryly on reflex.
“The gap between a knight who can wield aura and one who can’t is the difference between heaven and earth.”
Derick lowered his sword and went on.
“If you want to beat Hate, learning aura is essential. But...”
Derick trailed off.
“But?”
“It’s nearly impossible. Even a knight with ordinary talent needs at least a year, once he awakens to mana, before he can learn aura. No matter how exceptional your talent is, there’s no way you’ll learn aura before the duel.”
“……”
Derick wasn’t wrong.
For someone like me, who had only just awakened mana, learning aura in a matter of days was close to impossible.
And yet I had to do it.
That was the only way to repay the people who had placed their faith in me.
...Aura.
I closed my eyes.
Then I recalled the sensation from when Derick had drawn out aura.
A hot current rose from my lower abdomen, surging upward like a blaze.
Mana.
Slowly, I let it flow into my sword.
Even though what I held in my hand was only a wooden sword, I didn’t care.
Vwoom.
Did I do it?
The moment that thought crossed my mind—
Crack!
The wooden sword couldn’t withstand the mana and shattered.
“...Well, of course that didn’t work.”
I looked at Derick with a disappointed expression.
But Derick’s face was odd.
“W-what?! How?”
His eyes were wide and his mouth hanging open.