Ch 117
“Master~”
I awoke pleasantly from my sleep, the sound of Ber’s voice accompanied by a comfortable weight on my chest.
It was a very good nap.
But that pleasant feeling was short-lived.
“Wake up~ It’s morning~”
Ber’s following words made my eyes snap open.
What? Morning?
That means I missed my dinner with Pien?
That I failed to practice the only teaching left by my Master?
My upper body shot up.
“Oops, sorry.”
After patting Ber’s head, who had fallen backward from the recoil, I reprimanded the culprit of this mishap.
“Klana! Why didn’t you wake me up earlier!”
-Why are you yelling at me?
“Didn’t I clearly ask you to wake me up!”
-When did you do that?
“Ah, I don’t know! Anyway, I hate you!”
-…How did I end up with this kind of guy?
As I approached the window to open the curtains, I felt a sense of incongruity.
Isn’t it a little dark for morning?
Once I opened the curtains, that thought intensified.
“…It’s a lot darker than it should be for morning…”
To interpret that tranquil scene, where the sunset was slowly spreading, as morning would require a rather avant-garde sense of time.
Was Ber playing a prank on me?
Good heavens, already in puberty?
I used a gesture to ask for an explanation.
Ber, still lying on their stomach, stretched their short limbs energetically and shouted.
“The time Master wakes up is morning!!! The time Master sleeps is night!!!”
“What kind of tyrannical thinking is this.”
The powerful energy emanating from that small body seemed to be absorbed directly into me.
Anyway, it’s good.
Energetic from the morning（?）.
Thus, encouraged by Ber, I began to prepare to start the day with a light heart.
✦✦✦
A short while later.
After a quick grooming in the small bathroom attached to my room, I checked the time.
The dinner appointment Pien had mentioned.
She seemed intent on coming to see me when I woke up, so wouldn’t I be able to wake up completely by seeing her pretty face?
‘Good.’
Then, until Pien arrives, let me refine the unfinished ‘Enhancement’.
I began to wander around the room, warming up my magical power and concentration.
Then, I recall the form of the Enhancement I had established while staying up all night.
The flow of that Mana.
The mechanism of action.
Immediately, I bring the sensation I had recreated through thought into reality.
-Thump
Then an overwhelming feeling of exhilaration follows.
It wasn’t a pleasant sensation, even if I tried to sugarcoat it.
It was like gulping down a bowl of concentrated coffee extract.
Apart from the surging power, I could feel with my whole body that the surging power was having a detrimental effect on my body every second.
-Thump!
My instincts send a warning.
To stop immediately.
To get out of this abnormal state.
‘Calm down.’
Carefully soothing those instinctive cries, I began to calm my breathing.
“Hoo…”
For me, a sickly, smiling girl with a constitution that causes me to bleed profusely and lose consciousness at any time, the Blue Breath now felt almost like a panacea.
Using the Wizard’s ‘Resonance’ to activate Mana Sensitivity beyond its limits, and using the Swordsman’s ‘Blue Breath’ to manage the resulting physical side effects.
That was the basic framework of this Enhanced Ability.
For me, who can skillfully handle both, it was an ideally simple ability in theory.
Of course, just because it’s simple doesn’t mean it’s easy.
“Ugh…! Ugh…!”
Having reached my limit shortly after using the Enhanced Ability, I immediately stopped everything and began to collect my breath.
-Master!!! How is it!!! The ‘Burning Leon’s White Flame’ is!!!
“Is that really the name of this technique…? Ugh━ Please, bear with me…”
After barely managing to regain control, I told Klana and Dangaleon, who were interestingly observing the situation from my Inner World, about my experience using the Enhanced Ability.
This Enhanced Ability was a power created for the purpose of temporary, yet drastic and dramatic, realm enhancement.
Just like how Moria, who was at Rank 5, tried to overwhelm me, who was at Rank 6, during our sparring match.
But like this-
“As it stands, it’s almost impossible to use it in actual combat, and I don’t think I’ll be able to see sufficient results. I need to refine it a little more.”
-What do you think the problem is?
“The problem…”
How perfectly one controls power that exceeds their own abilities.
That was the key to this Enhanced Ability.
I actively used the secrets of Ideation when exerting that control.
The realization I gained through my sparring match with Moria.
That attempt was successful.
The feeling I had while handling this ability was ‘insufficient’, not ‘wrong’.
I think it’s probably an approach close to the correct answer.
Nevertheless, the problem arose because-
“It seems to be a lack of my pure ability.”
I realized while actively using the secrets of Ideation.
The fact that the secrets of Ideation I obtained from Moria were only a fragment of the whole.
In a way, it’s natural.
At that time, Moria was pretending to be at Rank 5.
-Lack of ability?
-No!!! Don’t say that, Master!!! Blame this inanimate woman instead!
Ultimately, this problem also leads to one conclusion.
“I need to find an opportunity to properly experience the realm of Rank 7.”
In that sense, it could be considered a welcome uninvited guest.
The opportunity came sooner and faster than I had anticipated.
-Knock knock
Thinking it was Pien, I immediately rushed to open the door.
There, a familiar bespectacled young woman stood.
Dray’s agent.
She still spoke to me with a businesslike yet somewhat sharp attitude.
“Will you come with me? Dray and Duke Pallag are waiting for you.”
✦✦✦
The basement of the mansion I arrived at, following the bespectacled young woman.
The atmosphere of the place was heavier than I had anticipated.
A Great Noble and an Archmage.
The two, standing side by side, silently greeted me.
In addition, a High Priest restrained in an ice prison in one corner of the basement looked at me with a meaningful smile.
-Master! For some reason, those worms are wary of the Masters!
It was something I had already felt before Dangaleon even spoke.
A sense of oppression, as if my shoulders were being crushed and my lungs were being constricted.
The caution of monsters, too numerous to deal with individually, overwhelmed me.
-That heretic woman must have been up to something.
I secretly nodded in agreement with Klana’s words.
Otherwise, there was no reason for the Great Noble and the Archmage to suddenly be wary of me.
I tried my best to calm my anxious heart and calmly waited for the two to speak.
All I had done recently was win a sparring match.
And I had helped to expel a heretic who had infiltrated and hidden their identity.
In fact, hadn’t the agents of the two sent me good signals this morning?
Until then, I hadn’t felt this kind of wariness.
Therefore, while the two were showing me a positive kind of interest-
It would be reasonable to assume that the heretic High Priest was up to something.
The seeds of doubt sown by the High Priest between the two.
All I need to do is remove those seeds.
I seemed to know what stance I should take.
“May I ask the reason for summoning me?”
In this situation, the moment I show weakness, I’ll be swept away.
I mustn’t give that High Priest even a sliver of an opportunity to delve in.
Instead, I spoke with a confident and relaxed attitude.
“…”
“…”
My reaction seemed unexpected, as a hint of confusion and interest appeared on the two’s faces.
Moreover, the oppressive atmosphere that had been pressing down on me faded.
“Lisir.”
Pallag finally opened his mouth.
“See if you can figure out what this is?”
Pallag held up an opaque crystal ball in his hand.
“…”
While pretending to carefully observe the crystal ball-
‘Help!!!’
I asked for help from my comrades in the Inner World.
-Master! That’s a Two-Sided Mirror! It’s an item containing the power to glimpse the mental image of a specific target!
‘Mental image? Could this be related to why they called me here?’
-I, Dangaleon, guarantee it! In this world, there is no being with a more noble mental image than Master! By the way, those scoundrels!!! They are repaying Master’s kindness in catching the worm hidden among them with enmity! To arbitrarily peek at Master’s mental image!
‘Scoundrels…’
I focused on that part of Dangaleon’s words.
According to that, arbitrarily peeking into a target’s mental image is a clear act of disrespect.
I have one more solid reason to be confident.
“It’s a Two-Sided Mirror. Summoning me here and showing me that first… Now I understand the situation.”
I expressed my regret with a bitter smile.
Thereby, I pointed out the disrespect they had shown me.
A slight confusion appeared on the two’s faces.
However, it was only for a moment.
“You understand… Then the conversation will be easier. Lisir. Will you look at this?”
Pallag waved his hand in the air once before placing it over the Two-Sided Mirror.
Then, a mental image unfolded within the transparent crystal ball.
Blood formed a pool, a pillar of black fire rose to touch the sky, and a raging sandstorm formed mountains, swallowing the sky and the sun.
After that mental image, Pallag spoke to Dray’s agent, the bespectacled woman.
“Ponia.”
“Yes, Duke Pallag.”
“What do you think of this mental image?”
“It’s a mental image that an ordinary human could never possess.”
“Then, what kind of person do you think the owner of this mental image is?”
“Surely, a powerful and evil being who has accumulated countless karmas over a long life.”
“I think the same.”
Pallag’s gaze turned to me.
“Who would look at this and think it’s the mental image of a young mage who has just turned twenty?”
I seemed to understand roughly how the situation was unfolding.
High Priest Moria.
While Pallag and Dray’s wariness was at its peak due to her presence, Moria subtly hinted at something to the two.
Perhaps, she insinuated something like, ‘Then, who is that guy who beat me?’ to incite suspicion?
Even to me, Dray and Pallag’s suspicions were valid.
I knew very well how alien my existence was, from the reactions of the people I had met so far.
Feeling a creepy gaze, I looked in that direction, and there Moria was looking at me and laughing cheerfully.
-It’s your turn now!
It seemed like such a cry was heard, an expression filled with joy and malice.
“Lisir.”
Pallag’s stern voice urged me.
I stared at the crystal ball, lost in thought.
How should I overcome this situation?
How should I explain this extremely vicious mental image?
It was a question from the beginning.
Why did my mental image become such a mess?
A sea of blood, pillars of fire, sandstorms, it’s a complete mess-
“…Huh?”
Wait.
Those things.
They feel somehow familiar?
Pien’s face suddenly came to mind.
-You keep the spirits in your Inner World, right?
That face, aghast at my condition.
‘Could it be…?’
Looking at the crystal ball, I spoke to the inhabitants of my Inner World.
✦✦✦
Pallag demanded an explanation, but his mind was already made up.
This mental image was something that could never be explained with words.
As Moria, who handed over this Two-Sided Mirror, said, he was a being comparable to a High Priest-
Or perhaps even more terrifying and evil.
Even the mental image of a High Priest who served demons wasn’t this terrifying.
“Reveal your identity.”
While pressing for an answer, his attention was focused not on his ears, but on his eyes and senses.
To accurately capture the moment he reveals his identity and struggles, and to immediately respond.
“…”
At that moment, Lisir gestured towards the Two-Sided Mirror.
As if to say, look there.
“…”
Pallag was not deceived by it.
A being who had even tricked a High Priest.
That identity.
He couldn’t even dare to guess.
At this moment, not for a single moment should he take his eyes off him-
“You! Fluffy Sparkles!”
“?”
At that moment, a naive voice that didn’t suit the atmosphere of the place was heard.
A girl-shaped Sand Spirit, who had appeared without notice, stood beside Lisir, her hands on her hips, glaring at Pallag.
“Are you bullying Master right now!?”
“…”
Pallag blinked.
Clearly, he was in a state of heightened senses, able to detect all flows of Mana and take preemptive measures.
Yet, without even knowing it, he had ‘summoned’ a spirit?
“…Duke Pallag? The Two-Sided Mirror━”
Dray’s confused voice was heard at that moment.
Pallag had no choice but to check the Two-Sided Mirror.
The sandstorm stopped.
“?”
Poof.
Then a grayish-white Fire Spirit was summoned（?）.
Again, there was no Mana reaction.
The pillar of fire went out.
“?”
Poof.
The girl spirit was summoned（?）.
Again, there was no Mana reaction.
The pool of blood dried up.
The crystal ball was empty.
“???”
The spirits suddenly summoned.
The mental world suddenly emptied.
Unable to find the connection between the two with their common sense and knowledge, they simply stared blankly at the crystal ball and Lisir in turn.
✦✦✦
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