[No title provided]
“Wh-what the hell?! Teach you what?”
“Why so surprised? I told you. Elf magic. Spirit Magic. That’s what I want you to teach me.”
Unlike Sennew, who couldn’t hide his shock, Adel’s expression was utterly calm.
“You… Do you even know what that is before asking? Though, come to think of it, I was destroyed in your previous life, right? So even if you’d lived it, you wouldn’t have seen that magic.”
Sennew shook his head.
“If you’d witnessed it, you wouldn’t be talking like this now. I don’t know where you picked it up, but forget it. Humans can’t learn it.”
He refused flatly.
“Using spirits is only possible because we’re elves. Spirit Magic purifies mana impurities and extracts only the essence.”
Adel nodded.
“But higher purity means greater mana intensity. And that intensity burdens the body proportionally.”
“You know I ate a Dragon Heart, right? I’m not trying to filter my mana for purity. It’s the opposite.”
“I know. You want to learn Spirit Magic to harness your overflowing mana. But it’s impossible. You’re already contracted with an ancient god. Your blood core must be brimming with divine power.”
Sennew waved him off.
“Consider eating the Dragon Heart a stroke of luck. The draconic mana is binding the divine poison spreading through your body.”
He prodded Adel’s chest lightly.
“Protecting your body from divine poison—that’s the limit of how much mana you can handle. Push into magic, and your blood core will burst.”
“Don’t worry. That won’t happen.”
“Bluffing… Your blood core is already packed with divine power—no room left for mana…”
In that instant, Adel seized Sennew’s hand—the one that had poked him—and pressed it to his own body.
“You think so?”
“...Huh?”
Sennew’s face stiffened.
“Forgot? I went to Gerald’s lair. My blood core isn’t just one.”
“...Damn. Right. You did.”
Sennew realized his mistake at Adel’s words.
“Yeah, you had another vessel for mana. Shouldn’t think of you in normal terms anyway.”
“Convinced now?”
To his question, Sennew replied,
“Yeah. Which makes it even more impossible. Two blood cores inside you? You’re a walking time bomb. I’m not tossing a spark at that.”
Sennew grew more serious, but Adel nodded as if he’d expected it.
“What if there’s a way to protect the blood cores?”
“What do you—”
“I’m not asking for elf magic on a whim. As you said, ordinary human mana gets crushed by divine power.”
The balance was such: the stronger the divine power from a god, the weaker the mana; the stronger a mage’s mana, the weaker the god they could contract.
“But the mana I’ve absorbed isn’t ordinary. Draconic mana is strong enough to withstand divine power.”
“That’s exactly why it’s more dangerous. Two ferocious powers crammed inside you. A true time bomb.”
“Then we need a bridge to protect the blood cores and neutralize divine power and mana. A third power belonging to neither.”
Adel met Sennew’s gaze.
“Every sage before now failed to wield both because they sought that third power within themselves.”
“Aura…”
“Right. But aura comes from the human body too. In a saturated state, it just eats away at the flesh.”
Gerald, founder of the Ivory Tower, had succeeded in implanting two blood cores, yet Kalderet hadn’t recognized him as a mage.
The reason? He abandoned his mana the moment he contracted an ancient god.
A monumental achievement, but ultimately incomplete.
“In my past life, I couldn’t use mana but wielded aura. Now I can handle mana too.”
Having experienced all powers across lives, Adel understood.
“Aura can’t control both. It only stresses the body further. A failed method, plain and simple.”
“...”
Sennew’s lips tightened.
From his dawning realization, Adel nodded slowly.
“Who said it? In mastering magic, the key is how purely you refine mana into your own.”
Sennew flinched—his eyebrow twitched.
“Even the same 1-class spell is vastly stronger from a caster with purer mana. Everyone knows that.”
“...”
“So how do you raise mana purity? Many mages researched it but found no answer.”
Adel continued, watching Sennew’s face harden.
“They settled on the laziest conclusion: those innately gifted at sensing and absorbing mana are just born that way.”
“No way you…”
“But one overturned that entirely. He claimed mana purity stems not from the body, but the soul—the spirit.”
Adel shrugged.
“Humans can’t gaze into their own souls, though. They need outside help.”
Among countless beings, the undead or ghosts weren’t closest to the soul.
“The immortal lack souls altogether. But spirits? Pure soul incarnate.”
“...You’re right.”
Sennew bowed his head in admission.
Adel knew why.
“But no one acknowledged him. Chained as he was, unable to step foot outside the Black Magic Palace.”
“This is insane… Did I even tell you that in your past life? Must’ve blabbed everything.”
The reason he bowed: Adel’s tale was Sennew’s own story.
“That’s why I’ll borrow a third power to shield my blood cores. Convert mana using spirits, not my own strength.”
And for that, he needed Spirit Magic.
“Elf magic differs from human. Our bodies do too. Humans handle spirits but rely on staffs, necklaces, or other mediums as conduits. Know why?”
“Because humans can’t take spirit power into their bodies.”
“You know it well. Then why say it?”
“But it’s not impossible. If a pureblood elf who commands spirits shares their blood.”
Sennew’s eyes trembled.
“...No way. Even that forbidden rite—you heard it from me? You’re mad. If you wanna die, do it cleanly.”
His voice shook as he questioned Adel.
“No.”
“Then? No human wields spirit systems this well.”
“None among humans. Even Hanna Kran, lord of Spirit Formation, barely handles high spirits. Implanting spirit power to transform the body? Unthinkable.”
“Then…?”
“A race with even higher spirit affinity than humans. Who else? Elves.”
“But…”
Sennew stared, baffled.
“Elves are alive.”
“Wh-what?!”
Sennew cried out, voice quivering.
“A little girl. And if her words hold, there are more like her.”
“R-really?”
“Don’t know where she is now… But I know when and where we can meet. Problem is, I lack the power to save her.”
Adel pressed on.
“Think of it as an investment. With the Spirit Magic you teach, we save what might be the last elf bloodline.”
[You lack power?]
Kalderet chuckled in disbelief, but truth or lie, it didn’t matter to Sennew. He had no choice but to fulfill the condition.
“Still bargaining with me, huh? Greedy bastard.”
“Bargain? This is just a request.”
“If… I teach you Spirit Magic, can you bring her here?”
“You’ll have to fetch her yourself.”
“But…”
“Break the seals from the grimoire and Titan’s Book yourself, then go. Right?”
Sennew’s lips twitched.
Too long chained—had he unconsciously accepted he couldn’t leave the Black Magic Palace? Shame washed over him.
“...I see.”
Unexpected, but one more task didn’t feel bad.
“And if I master Spirit Magic with your help, I might adapt it against divine poison.”
“...?!?”
“Once free, visit Gerald’s lair. Clues to his research might remain. Use them to rediscover dual blood cores.”
Gulp.
Sennew swallowed dryly.
“Divine poison derives from divine power too. If we control divine and mana, why not that?”
His heart raced at Adel’s words.
“The darkest place is under the lamp. Maybe the answer was in what you knew best.”
“I… was a fool.”
“Nah. Your 300 years of effort is why I trust you enough to try. So Sennew, the dead past is fine, but how about giving hope to the living too?”
“The living…”
Sennew sighed softly, gazing at him.
“Adel, we’ve known each other mere days, and you’re already bossing me around.”
“Rest if you want.”
But Adel saw his lips curve up.
“Kidding. Rest when you’re in the coffin. Not yet. Let’s start.”
Sennew’s steps felt lighter. Ironically, the face of one already dead brimmed with vitality.
* * *
“Spirit Magic’s foundation is harmony between mana and spirits. Elves are born with high spirit affinity.”
“But humans aren’t.”
“Human spirit mages use artifacts to boost affinity. But that won’t master Spirit Magic. You need spirit mana inside your body.”
Sennew had led Adel to a vast hall deep underground in the Black Magic Palace. Resembling a training ground, it was littered with magical tools—each worth a kingdom’s treasury. Their shattered remnants testified to 300 years of relentless research.
“That’s why we inject elf blood. But as you know, it’s laced with divine poison. The injection itself brings agony.”
“Doesn’t matter.”
Sennew seemed more tense than Adel himself.
“...”
He retrieved something from the hall’s wall. Cold air emanated from the box. Inside: three vials of fresh, crimson blood.
“Elf serum. Prepared for emergencies.”
“Let’s begin.”
Sennew attached a thin needle to one.
“Just… survive this.”
With those loaded words, he pierced Adel’s vein.
Sting.
The elf blood flowed in.
“Hm.”
A prickling sting, but Adel nodded nonchalantly.
“...Nothing?”
Adel stared blankly at Sennew.
“R-really?”
“Yeah.”
Sennew stood dumbfounded, speechless at Adel’s casual stance.
“Hah…”
In 300 years—or even his living days—he’d never seen this.
“Let’s start right away. To link two blood cores, we need a Spirit Axis inside.”
Talent? Genius? Words failed to describe him.
“What kind of monster is this…?”
Sennew muttered at Adel’s retreating back.