Chapter 38
Chapter 38
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 38
Chapter Title: Modern Magic Lecture (7)
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I want it.... No, I want to monopolize it!
Luxy's mouth flooded with saliva like a burst dam.
'Third Mana Organ?'
In the tens of thousands of years of Midgard's history, only two mana organs had ever appeared.
Mana Circuits. Ether Core.
No technology surpassing these first and second organs—known as such—had ever been discovered. Talk of a new organ was nothing more than the delusions of dreamers.
And yet now!
A new organ that made those dreams reality was right in front of them.
Others might not know, but Luke had said the name "Third Organ" with his own lips.
It had to be real. Any mage alive would lose their mind over it.
'J-just a little...!'
A small sample would be enough.
Even a tiny pinch smaller than a fingernail.
Please...!
"Restrain her."
"Ah...."
No sooner had the words left his mouth than everyone pinned Luxy down. Yuseong muttered, 'Knew you'd do that,' before continuing.
"I can't even drink water properly in front of you lot. Water!"
"......"
"How do you manage to piss me off every single day...? You must be mold! Summer monsoon mold, you germs!"
"L-Luke, lumping us all in because of Luxy's slip-up is a bit..."
"—What."
"......Never mind, nothing."
They'd come to realize at some point that shutting up and taking the abuse was the smart move. A sign of their growth(?), in a way.
Mana Semiconductor.
As the name suggested, this wasn't a semiconductor for conducting electricity—it was one for mana.
"The principle is simple. It'll send things like nanomachines into your bodies to form the mana semiconductor."
"...Isn't that dangerous?"
"It is."
"......"
"Might even be riskier than that idea she showed of combining mana circuits with a core. But in terms of stability, efficiency, and functionality, the difference is massive."
Nanomachines—or rather, mana machines—in the syringe?
Whatever you called these tiny particles, once they entered the body, reactions would start in under an hour.
They'd scour every bone, organ, nerve, and muscle, reshaping the entire body into a single semiconductor.
Accumulation, utilization, and conductivity of ether would all be handled by this "body" semiconductor. It held limitless potential, far beyond any core.
"But anyone without mana circuits who takes this will die for sure. Same if your body's weak or your mana comprehension sucks. The pain's insane, too. About a hundred times the agony you're feeling now from ether adaptation, all compressed into an instant and slamming every connected nerve in your body."
In other words, weak mental fortitude meant death, too.
"But if you endure it, circles and classes become worthless shit. That's the point, if nothing else."
Pure output could overwhelm even an 8th-circle archmage.
That was Yuseong's final word.
And then...
"So, how do we take it?"
Not a single coward hesitated here.
.........
.........
'Ah, I should've been the coward...'
Less than a minute later, every single one of them was drowning in regret.
Painful?
It wasn't pain you could describe with words.
This was pure madness. Something no one but a suicidal maniac should attempt.
"----!"
Human speech was impossible.
You just ended up crawling on all fours like an animal, conversing in beastly tongues. Visions hit like sucking down a kilo of weed at once—heaven flipping upside down, earth becoming sky, utter nonsense.
The Grim Reaper approached, beckoning you over, doing gestures and even tap-dancing.
You tap-danced along, and he said to cross the river together—but the moment your foot touched the water, you'd say goodbye to the living world and head to Valhalla. Fact.
...But for some reason, going to Valhalla didn't seem so bad.
'I-If I go there... it won't hurt like this, right?'
Mirni even considered that dying might not be so bad, letting her mind slip away.
If she just let go, the pain, the sorrow, even the painful memories would all vanish...
......She just wanted to rest now.
Tap tap.
'......A hand?'
Someone was touching her back.
It wasn't a creepy touch.
It was warm and gentle, and with each pass, the pain eased a little.
'Goddess? Sylvia?'
Was one of them lending her strength?
But it felt too thick and rough to be theirs.
Mirni realized what this hand was in an instant.
"Lu....... Lu...ke...."
"Breathe. Feel what I guide you through."
"Uh, uuum...!"
"Yeah, like that."
"H-Hey..."
"Shut your mouth. That's better...-."
"P-Pet my... head... please...."
"......"
"Pl-Pleeease......"
"......Sigh."
They said people lost their minds when the pain and exhaustion got too bad—and she was exactly that.
Reason screamed no, but her mouth was already spouting nonsense. Mirni screamed internally.
'Kyaaaaah! I-I'm losing it!!'
Of course, in her head.
She trembled, wondering what insult would come next—and as expected...!
Rustle, rustle.
"Better?"
"......?"
"Now focus. Lose concentration, and you could die."
"......"
"Not answering?!"
"Y-You told me not to talk...!"
Her voice wasn't trembling from pain—it was shaky from shock and disbelief.
She hadn't expected him to actually do it.
'...Warm.'
If she'd had a real dad or big brother, would he have stroked her head this gently?
Mirni surrendered to the warmth on her head and pushed through the pain.
"Asleep?"
"......"
"No answer."
Her mana flow had stabilized, so no major issues there, but...
Yuseong cautiously set her down—just in case—and checked the others.
Some writhing like Mirni, others already containing their mana.
He moved around, stabilizing their mana circuits one by one.
Leonhardt and Valian calmed a bit and adapted right away—proof that the titles of kingdom's strongest knight and warrior weren't won by gambling.
Alicia struggled with a rough patch but, true to her cockroach-like vitality as an elf, endured and overcame it. Luxy...
'Nothing more for me to do there.'
She'd accumulated and refined her mana on her own, and was already analyzing the semiconductor in her body.
'Her talent really is...'
Hate her personality all you want, but the talent was undeniable.
Finally, Mirni had been pulled back from death's door.
Beastkin had tough life force, but her relatively frail constitution made it hard.
Maybe that's why Yuseong unusually granted her request.
You could heal a body, but a broken mind was another story.
'Looks like she's past the worst now...'
"Unexpected."
"......Lately, I hear that a lot?"
"It truly is. Who'd have thought I'd see Luke comforting Mirni.... Even my mother couldn't have foreseen it—blasphemous as that sounds."
【Spot on. To think my child would show such tenderness.... If you'd acted half this gentle before, you might've had a pretty girl by your side ages ago.】
"Mother speaks true."
The mother-daughter—no, goddess and saintess—tag-team banter was maddening. Yuseong ignored the stiffening nape of his neck and glared.
"What, Saintess from Wherever thinks mocking me for doing your job is cute?"
"......"
【.......】
Yuseong had successfully flipped off both goddess and saintess at once.
Io was growing steadily from prayers in the game, but she still couldn't wield real power.
Gias was manageable somehow, but the rest...
Like restoring the saintess's holy power? Not yet.
【Just a bit more, and my daughter can wield her power again. Don't be so harsh.】
"Mother..."
"That 'bit'—when? When she gets gray hairs?"
【.......】
Io couldn't give a firm answer.
Her current state, compared to Midgard? Less than 0.01%.
At least 1%—no, 0.5%? Then she could influence the world, and Sylvia would regain her holy power.
But how long would that take?
Filling a vessel called "goddess"?
Impossible to calculate.
With Yuseong hammering that fact, the goddess and saintess could only pout.
How cruel and wicked this man was...!
【W-Wait and see! I'll make sure my daughter regains her power!】
"M-Mother, please don't overdo it..."
【Would a goddess utter empty words? One year—one year, and I'll show results!】
The goddess pledged with resolve, but Yuseong hit the pitiful, pathetic deity with more facts.
"Forget a year—in half a year, you won't even be here anymore. Show what?"
【...Ah.】
"......"
Lately, he'd been thinking: she was the type who'd be ruined by loan sharks.
"Ugh...!"
As the chatter dragged on, one person clutched her throbbing head and stood.
"......"
Yuseong clapped as he eyed her, pupils dilated like a hangover victim.
Clap! She jolted in surprise and looked at him.
"Wh-What..."
"How do you feel?"
"......"
"Speech impediment now?"
"...Just despairing that the first face I see after cheating death is yours."
Alicia wrinkled her nose and whined. Then, belatedly, she answered his question.
"Feeling... yeah."
Whoosh!
Her golden hair fluttered, shimmering with brilliant silver light. For the first time, Alicia smiled.
"Not bad at all."