Chapter 24
[Hmm......]
The chamber was plastered floor to ceiling with densely packed spells and sheets of paper scribbled with unknown runes and symbols.
[I can definitely sense that guy's aura here.]
Kalderet gazed at the lair for a moment, as if reminiscing about old times.
"This is my first time seeing the lair intact. In my previous life, I couldn't find a way through the fountain, so I had no choice but to blow up the entire cave. A lot got lost because of that."
[It wouldn't have mattered anyway. These spells are the work of the ancient Arun Asar people. No one can read them now, and even if they could, no one could use them.]
"Not even dragons?"
[The Arun Asar had their own unique magic. Come to think of it, that bastard Gerald... he was always poring over strange ancient books....... Did he find it there? Tch.]
Even as he spoke, a trace of longing for his former contractor seeped into Kalderet's voice.
"Found it."
Rummaging through the room, Adel pulled out a small box containing a vial.
[This is it.]
Kalderet peered into the vial. Something unknowable churned inside, as if an entire world were trapped within.
[No way......]
Kalderet's eyes trembled as he read the flow.
"That's right. All rules follow equivalent exchange. Even if you twist the worldline in reverse to regress, your previous life's world doesn't vanish."
[You didn't absorb that vessel yourself—you tricked the eyes of order by using a doll in your place from that previous world.]
"Exactly."
[But to do that without violating the rules, you had to imbue the doll with your power......]
Kalderet looked at Adel.
"Yeah. When I found this place, you told me Gerald's true identity. And the method of regression too."
[You're insane....... That means I formed a new contract with that doll?!]
He asked in disbelief.
[Me, an ancient god, not only teaching a human how to twist worldlines but contracting with a mindless doll?]
Kalderet addressed Adel directly.
[What the hell happened in your previous life?]
"Nothing much. Just a bit of betrayal. And walking a blood-soaked path from quite a few deaths."
[Now I get why you said there's no next regression. In your previous life, you used this as a vessel in your stead, but this time, you plan to consume it.]
"Right. I used this to regress. But only as a vessel. In the histories of both my previous and current lives, no one's ever drunk it."
No one could guarantee the outcome.
Replacing the human bloodline one had from the dawn of time was akin to birthing an entirely new race of divine humans.
Gulp.
Without hesitation, Adel downed the potion in one go.
[Evolution or regression....... Even I can't predict what'll happen when a human challenges the domain of gods—creation.]
Kalderet muttered lowly.
"Yeah. No one knows the future. But you need this kind of resolve at least."
The first and the last.
"There won't be a second regression."
Mana exists everywhere in the natural world.
If aura uses the innate qi within the human body, then mana is borrowing the building blocks of the world through spells.
Naturally, if the world is filled with mana, there must be paths for it to flow.
Just as humans have bloodlines as channels for mana to course through their bodies, the continent has similar conduits called main veins.
Main veins are where mana flows.
They are places of purest mana, and mage strongholds are typically built there.
Sage Gerald's lair was no different.
Or rather, it was more than that.
[That bastard....... He built all sorts of things.]
Unlike typical mage outposts built atop natural main veins, Gerald had forcibly twisted the vein that should have extended elsewhere, compelling it to converge beneath his lair.
It was truly land where mana condensed.
[Impressive that it stayed hidden this long.]
Kalderet muttered, watching Adel, who had drunk the potion, close his eyes and sit cross-legged.
[Well, if he could twist a continental main vein, twisting a human bloodline would be...... child's play.]
He continued.
[That Gerald....... I thought I'd finally found a contractor after so long, but he'd summoned me for his own research.]
But a mage summoning not just a high god, but an ancient god, was nothing short of a miracle.
What's past is past.
Instead, Kalderet was merely curious about how Adel would change.
Woooong......
As time passed, a faint light began to glow around the floor where Adel sat.
The mana from the main vein was starting to react to him.
[Creating bloodlines that can carry mana and a vessel to hold it is akin to being reborn.]
Thud.
Kalderet placed a hand on his shoulder.
[I am the god of creation and void because creation requires destruction to accompany it.]
Woooong......
Mana particles began slowly absorbing into Adel's body.
[If you can't overcome the destruction needed for rebirth, you cease to exist.]
"Don't worry. I won't die."
[......!!!]
That was when it happened.
Kalderet couldn't help but startle at the sight of Adel suddenly opening his eyes.
[Wh-what?!]
"What else? I amplified my bloodline with the main vein's mana. It's not perfect yet, but I've got a vessel to hold mana now."
He stared at Adel.
[I-it's real? There are two true blood veins in your body. This is impossible....... How did you do it?]
"Breathing."
[......What?]
"Simple. After drinking Gerald's potion, you breathe slowly to let the liquid circulate through your entire body."
Kalderet stared at Adel with a look that said he was spouting nonsense.
"The Arun Asar pure lineage breathing technique."
[Arun......? You mean the ancients?]
"Yes. Their unique breathing method conveys your will to every organ in your body."
[So that's why there are so many spellbooks here in ancient runes?]
"Yeah. Gerald was a scholar who studied the ancient era, called the Age of Glory."
Adel said it casually.
But his answer left Kalderet even more baffled.
[But the ancients vanished ages ago....... And even if Gerald studied them, you found this place much later.]
He pressed on.
[No human in this era can read Arun Asar runes anymore. So how did you learn their breathing technique?]
"For a human, sure."
[......Hm?]
"But elves are different. They carry Arun Asar blood. That's why they're adept at magic yet lack affinity with gods."
[Elves....... True, they have ancient blood flowing in them. But even in my era, they were rarely seen?]
"Rarely seen, not extinct. In my previous life, one of my comrades was an elf. He saw Gerald's spells and derived the breathing technique from them."
[I see....... That makes sense.]
Kalderet nodded.
[And that means you can meet elves? Excellent. Elves are the blessed of gods—elegant and upright.]
"Eh."
Adel made a noncommittal face at Kalderet's words.
"At least the elf I know isn't like that."
[......Huh?]
"He's just a madman."
Kalderet looked puzzled at his words, but Adel waved it off, as if he didn't want to think about it.
"Securing the true blood was a success, but I've only made the vessel so far. With the divine power already in my body, if I stray from the main vein, the mana will scatter instantly."
The vessel was made, but the rule of equivalent exchange still held.
Bodies with God's Blessing naturally repelled mana.
"The natural world may be full of mana, but filling your body with it the normal way is impossible."
[Filling with mana....... Now I get it. That's why there's something like waves of vital energy in this cave.]
Adel nodded at his words.
"Waves of vital energy connect to the spirit realm. With that water, you can become a body that absorbs mana."
[Next step is finding the waves of vital energy, then.]
"No need to find it. I already know where it is."
[Ha, haha....... You're driving me crazy.]
"But I need a pretext to go there. Gotta hurry. Even with the vessel, if divine poison builds up over time, this method becomes useless."
[......But if Gerald discovered how to make two true blood veins, why hasn't it been known until now?]
To Kalderet's question, Adel replied.
"Less 'unknown' and more 'he never shared it.' Gerald never published any of his achievements anywhere."
[Why?]
"No need. Creating two true blood veins has a prerequisite."
[What?]
"You have to reach the pinnacle of one lineage. Gerald could do it because he mastered magic, and I can because I'm contracted with you, an ancient god."
Kalderet nodded.
"No one's contracted with an ancient god, and most archmages hit 8th class—the human peak—and have no choice but to contract low gods by then."
[Right. Reaching 8th class requires a god's help.]
"But Gerald reached 8th class without it."
A true genius.
No other word fit him.
[So amplifying true blood requires talent too.]
"Exactly."
[And you're the same as Gerald in another way. You contracted an ancient god with nothing to your name.]
"Eh. I was just lucky. You wanted freedom from your seal."
[Hmph....... Still, I wouldn't contract just anyone.]
Adel chuckled at Kalderet's words.
"Thanks."
[Hah, anyway, who knew it'd end this easily. I was all geared up for drama, and now I feel embarrassed.]
Adel smiled faintly at Kalderet's grumbling.
"It's just the beginning. Still a lot to do. Let's grab what we need here first. Come back for the rest later."
Adel tucked a few scrolls from Gerald's lair into his bosom.
In my previous life, when I found this place, most of it was badly damaged. The elf always grumbled in regret while looking at Gerald's spellbooks.
Adel picked up the scrolls on the desk.
'If those three scrolls bound with green string had survived the explosion, the entire magic system would have changed.'
Those exact three scrolls sat right before him.
'Once I fill the vessel with mana, next is learning Gerald's spells.'
They were useless for now.
But he was excited to see what they contained.
"Let's go."
Having gathered everything worth taking, Adel turned without hesitation.
There was one last thing to collect.
The head of the Orc Lord, Anok.