Chapter 034: Mana Tea (1)
The next morning.
Mitchell didn't get up immediately; he lay in bed, staring at the ceiling.
The memories that had bubbled up last night stayed with him even after waking.
His mother, whose face he couldn't even remember.
Because of that, he had never felt a deep longing for her throughout his life.
Only a faint, blurry emotion had floated in a corner of his heart.
But after hearing Silvia’s words, he felt a profound pity for her.
‘I want to find out more.’
What kind of person she was, and exactly what the Kellion family had done.
However, it was clear that it wouldn't be an easy task.
‘Step by step.’
For now, he planned to start with the Mana Tea business, just as he had told Kayden.
He needed to ensure they weren't swayed by the House of Kellion.
He believed that was the way to repay his debt of grace while protecting himself.
Mitchell forced down the thoughts sprouting like bamboo shoots and got out of bed.
When he went down for breakfast, Kayden, Grant, and Silvia were already seated at the table.
Kayden smiled as he saw Mitchell take his seat.
“This is your first meal as a member of our family. Eat well.”
And so, the meal began.
A memory of Kellion suddenly flashed through Mitchell’s mind.
He felt a much greater sense of stability here than he ever did back there, despite the lavish food they served.
Grant and Silvia occasionally chattered away, brightening the mood, and Mitchell joined in, ending his first meal with his new family on a satisfying note.
Kayden wiped his mouth with a napkin and looked at Mitchell.
“Lord Lauren is in charge of the Mana Tea business, so you can go with Silvia. Silvia, you know where Lord Lauren’s workshop is, right?”
“Yes, I know. I’ll go with Mitchell... Brother.”
Grant burst into laughter at Silvia’s continued embarrassment.
“Pfft. Why can't you even say it properly?”
“Shut it...”
“You used to say it would be nice to have another brother when we were kids.”
“If you don't remember, let me remind you—I said it would be nice to have another one because I didn't have one who acted like a proper brother.”
“What?! What’s wrong with me!”
“Look in a mirror. Mitchell, Brother, let’s go.”
Silvia grabbed Mitchell’s hand and pulled him away, ignoring Grant’s shouts from behind.
Upon arriving at the workshop, Mitchell saw his Mana Tea dismantled.
Lauren was scrutinizing every single part.
Silvia ran over to him.
“Lord Lauren!”
“You’ve come at a perfect time. Look at this. I need to figure out the magic circles used in this mana engine. Do you happen to know anything?”
Silvia looked closely at the mana engine Lauren was pointing to.
Then, she raised both hands and backed away.
“Why are the magic circles so overlapped? If you even get the drawing order wrong, this thing won't work, will it?”
“Exactly. I knew it would be difficult, but it’s harder than I thought. I managed to solve the old mana vehicle engine because it was triple-layered, but this is a new model with a tenfold magic circle. Plus, there are many mana circles I’ve never seen before—they must be new.”
From the moment they met, Lauren and Silvia were so engrossed in their conversation while picking apart the mana engine that they forgot Mitchell was there.
Mitchell smiled as he watched them.
That was the true nature of mages.
Knowing there was no ill intent, Mitchell went over to them and inspected the mana engine together.
‘Tenfold, huh. But...’
He saw magic circles that were surprisingly familiar.
Though slightly different, they were at a level where he could recognize the fundamental circles they were based on.
While he was staring intently, Lauren began drawing a magic circle on a piece of paper.
“These three are from the old mana vehicle engines. The ones overlapped here likely include the same ones. Let’s look for these first.”
“Oh, I see one. Look at this.”
Silvia found a noticeable magic circle and drew it next to the original.
It looked a bit different, but one could tell at a glance that they shared the same source.
They struggled for a long while and found one more, but several hours passed without them being able to find the last one.
‘I think this is it...’
Mitchell wasn't sure if what he was seeing was correct.
He thought there was no way he would know something that Lauren and Silvia hadn't realized immediately.
Mitchell looked away from the engine and checked other parts first.
There were quite a few magic circles on the wheels and where the mana stones were located.
Mitchell identified those first.
Fortunately, the originals were all things he had seen in the library of the House of Kellion.
However, he felt he needed to study more to understand how the modified mana circles differed.
By the time he had drawn all the mana circles on paper and tucked them into his robe, several hours had passed.
‘Hmm... they’re still looking for just that one.’
He needed to go for his personal training soon, but seeing the two of them struggling made him feel a bit guilty.
So, Mitchell drew the remaining magic circle on another piece of paper.
“I think it’s this one.”
“Hmm?”
Lauren took the paper Mitchell handed him, looked at it for a long moment, and then his mouth dropped open.
“This is it! To think you know magic circles so well. Haha, thanks to you, we’ve found everything from the old engine! Now we must check the rest. Let’s tear it down together.”
Lauren turned back to inspect the magic circles.
Silvia did the same.
Both were completely lost in their passion for research.
[Just leave them and go. Increasing your own stage is what matters; what does a measly business matter? Money and power—eventually, everything is powerless before true strength.]
“You really are an old-timer, Master.”
[What! Are you saying I’m wrong?!]
“No, you’re right, Master. But it’s good if the business goes well too. I wanted to go now anyway, so please just wait a moment.”
In truth, Mitchell was starting to feel itchy himself.
He wanted to go swing a sword right now, to the point where he wondered how he ever managed to study magic before.
Hoping to be of some help before leaving, Mitchell took a piece of paper and began drawing the magic circles he recognized from the mana engine.
After drawing a total of eight circles, he placed them on a corner of the desk and quietly slipped out so as not to disturb the two.
Mitchell headed to the stable first.
The stablehand, recognizing Mitchell, bowed his head deeply.
“Greetings. Shall I bring out the Eldest Young Master’s horse?”
“No. I’ll go. I want to see how he’s doing anyway.”
“Understood. Please follow me.”
While following the stablehand, Mitchell asked something he was curious about.
“By the way, did you just call me 'Eldest Young Master'?”
“Yes, the Family Head informed all the servants yesterday of your description and name.”
While he had been holed up in his room, Kayden had been moving on Mitchell’s behalf.
Mitchell felt guilty but happy at the same time.
He wondered what it would have been like if he had grown up under a father like Kayden from the start.
‘I probably would have turned out like Grant.’
A bright, untainted, and upright person.
As he followed along with various thoughts, the stablehand eventually stopped.
Mitchell stroked the neck of the creature sitting quietly, and Nox complained to Mitchell about being bored.
Feeling that emotion, Mitchell climbed onto Nox’s back and left the estate.
Thanks to the saddle and horseshoes Kayden had prepared in advance, riding Nox was not a major inconvenience.
After heading north of Langa and confirming there were no people around, Mitchell began to run in earnest with Nox.
It was at a speed where it was difficult to even keep his eyes open without shrouding them in energy.
After running for a while, Nox snorted, his mood lifted.
“It was very suffocating, wasn't it? I’ll try to make it so you can be a bit more free.”
When Mitchell let go of the reins, Nox excitedly dashed off into the distance.
He vanished from sight in an instant, but knowing he would return on his own, Mitchell put it out of his mind and sat on the flat ground.
‘I haven't done a single session of meditative breathing since leaving the Demonic Realm.’
To be precise, he hadn't been able to.
Since he didn't know what might happen in his Aura Hole, which had been replaced by an Inner Core, he had been reluctant to do it next to Silvia.
Mitchell began his meditation according to the principles of the Sky-Shattering Heart Method.
The dark aura spread throughout nature gathered.
Meanwhile, the souls he had obtained in the Demonic Realm began to be decomposed and settled into his Aura Hole.
The process up to this point was the same as before.
However, the result was entirely different.
[Oho, pure dark aura is accumulating.]
“That’s good, but it feels like I’m accumulating less than a quarter of what I used to...”
[You brat! You can always build up dark aura again, but refining it to this level of purity is something even I couldn't do in my lifetime! You’re complaining when you should be counting your blessings?]
“Even you couldn't do it, Master?”
[Yes. Energy refined to this extent can be several times more efficient even if you use the same amount. Moreover, all the toxicity of the dark aura has vanished, which is exactly what you need right now.]
Come to think of it, thanks to his partial body reconstruction, he had been using martial arts without major issues so far.
However, every time he pushed his power to the limit, his body felt the strain.
Mitchell decided to check for himself and infused his energy into the Sky-Shattering Flash along with Descent of the Spirit.
‘Oh...’
He created the Descent and the Flash without even significantly depleting the energy in his Aura Hole.
Now it was time to test the limit.
Mitchell kept pushing energy into the Sky-Shattering Flash.
But before he could even reach the limit, Mitchell was stunned.
[Hmph, the output of the aura is different as well. No wonder a warrior who couldn't even reach the Master stage could run rampant like that.]
Mitchell smiled brightly at Karian’s words and infused even more energy.
Normally, it would have been difficult enough to make him grit his teeth, but now it was effortless.
Excited, Mitchell continued to transfer the energy from his Aura Hole to his sword.
BOOM!
Eventually, he lost control of the energy contained in the sword, and it exploded, vanishing into thin air.
[What a madman! You do something that dangerous just because you’re excited?! Let me see, the internal injuries must be quite sev...]
Karian stopped mid-sentence.
He examined Mitchell’s body, but there was only a slight displacement. At this rate, it would all be healed with just a few sessions of meditation.
[Hmph, well now. Since it’s a monster’s Inner Core, your body’s durability has also increased significantly.]
Mitchell smiled at his changed state and sat down to meditate and heal his internal injuries.
Just then, Nox, who had come running from afar kicking up dust, sat down near Mitchell.
“What? You want to be here too? Alright, I get it. But you have to stay still because I need to heal my injuries.”
Mitchell looked away from Nox and began his meditation.
At that moment, Mitchell’s Inner Core vibrated and connected with Nox.
Mitchell realized this was exactly how the Nightmare created an Inner Core for its cub.
As he continued to meditate, the energy taken from nature passed to Nox, and the energy that passed through returned exactly as it was to Mitchell.
‘Ah...’
Mitchell marveled slightly at the sensation he felt from his inner connection with Nox.
While Mitchell’s Aura Hole was stimulated and became even firmer, a faint seed began to form within Nox’s throat.
Lauren, who had been staring at the magic engine for a long time, felt like he couldn't go on.
He turned around to ask for Mitchell’s help again, but Mitchell was nowhere to be seen.
“Mitchell? Hmm, I guess he left.”
Looking outside, it was already getting dark.
Realizing he had been too focused, Lauren looked at Silvia.
She was still staring at the magic circles, trying to solve the formulas.
“Silvia, you should eat dinner. Let’s stop for today and try again tomorrow.”
“Ugh! I feel like I’ll get it if I just do a little more! I’ll just ask them to bring dinner here!”
“You just got back yesterday. You should spend time with the Family Head.”
Silvia seemed to have no choice but to get up at those words.
After sending Silvia off, Lauren was checking the desk to research more when he discovered a piece of paper he hadn't seen before.
“Mitchell must have left it. Let’s see how much he did.”
Thanks to Mitchell, he had found one magic circle in an instant.
Because of that, he was able to look at the new engine rather than just the ones from the old models.
In truth, even without that, Lauren was proud of Mitchell.
As soon as he was adopted, he had handed over a mana vehicle and spent hours in the workshop trying to help.
It was by no means an easy task.
Thinking of Mitchell, Lauren began to smile, but the smile vanished as soon as he unfolded the paper.
Eight out of ten.
While Silvia and he hadn't been able to distinguish a single one all day, Mitchell had drawn a staggering eight.
Though only a few were identical, he had even added annotations so one could tell what the original magic circles were.
Lauren tucked the paper into his robe and immediately ran somewhere.
“Mitchell! Mitchell, where are you! Let’s check the rest together!”
