A few days passed after Aidan helped rebuild the city. After using up nearly everything Nina had bought up, the city was left standing as though the attack never occurred. Many people, quite a lot of them, in fact, all cheered and celebrated by creating a festival on that very day in honor of the hero and benefactor of their beloved city.
Needless to say, it was fun, but also mentally tiring. That was the most time Aidan had ever spent with strangers since he arrived in this world, constantly getting thanked and practically worshipped for every step he took.
Eventually the energy died down as the city returned to how it once was, businesses starting back up and many people returning to their work lives before the attack came. While there were still plenty of things to fix, it was enough to say that Forontia was back on its feet and ready to serve.
For Aidan, that was more than enough as he and his friends returned to the forest where they spent most of their time training their skills. They didn’t have to worry about making any money in the meanwhile, and Nina hadn’t considered re-opening Raining Treasures, so Aidan, Haley, and Van were out of the job at the moment.
So they decided to spend their free time learning how to use mana alongside the Wise Guys, who suddenly had loads of free time themselves now that the recovery process for Forontia was done. And not only did they have Nicky offering some relatable information that anyone could follow, they had none other than the high elf herself giving a better explanation than what Aidan could provide.
“Mana has existed long before time was even considered a concept. It is as natural as life being born in the world, because it is a part of life. Mana is everywhere, creating the fundamental basics of everything around us. It exists in harmony, acting in accordance to the will of nature and the existence beyond.”
Yin explained fluently, her voice calm and peaceful like a kindergarten teacher explaining to children. Everyone followed along, receiving the short history lesson that came with it.
The system has existed along with the concept of magic itself. In a way, the system was magic itself, just on a higher plane than simple natural magic that existed in this world. According to some historical texts, it was created by a powerful entity that was considered a god in this world, and had created this elaborate system that allowed others to gain power far easier than how it was before its creation. As for how long the system was in place, nobody really knew for sure. Just like in Aidan’s old world, history could sometimes be erased, which included the time before the system arrived.
He wasn’t sure whether this had some political agenda, like how many religious organizations tried to assume that history was created by their god, ensuring that their authority had always been vast and supreme. They would easily and without hesitation kill those that would dare besmirch their god, putting down anything that didn’t go along with their faith. Aidan could easily imagine such a scenario here as, much like in his world, religion was also very present in this one.
Most healers often come from these religious factions, which is why despite Aidan having a Heal spell on hand, Nina refused to let him offer help by healing the masses from their injuries. That would only make out Aidan as some religious entity, and that would surely catch the attention of the fanatics and involve the church in some way or another, which would only increase the hassle that he quite frankly didn’t wish to get involved in.
He wasn’t a very religious man himself back in his old world, and while he respected others’ beliefs, he had seen how some zealots would go crazy to prove that their faith was stronger and mightier than anything else in the world, logic and reasoning be damned.
Now, going back to the topic of magic, Yin had explained so well that she should’ve been a well-respected professor in a top-of-the-line college. She explained magic in a way that even made Aidan nod in understanding, following her along with the others despite Aidan supposedly being the one to teach.
He was suddenly glad to bring Yin along, considering that she was busy helping the masses following Nina’s orders to make Nina stand out even more. Having a powerful high elf as a follower only made the people look up to Nina more, hence why Yin hadn’t been interacting much with Aidan and the others. But now, she had enough time as the city was returning to normal.
The topic of mana pretty much went like this: everything has mana, existing within living and non-living entities. That is due to the mana having many different types of aspects known as affinities, which includes the four elements that one naturally learned. And to feel this mana, one has to search deep within themselves.
Having a high enough Intelligence would help, but one needed to truly search within themselves and cultivate a starting base of mana within their cores in order to use it properly. Mana typically flows across the entire body, much like blood within veins, so the person needed to gather all of this mana up into their center cores and willfully push the mana out through their respective channels in order to use mana.
What Yin was trying to do was help those without the inherent sense to actually feel the mana. Unlike those with talents or those who use their spell-like abilities to learn from, sensing mana was the first hurdle. That’s when Aidan and Ander stepped in to make Yin’s explanation a whole lot simpler.
With Area Field and Craft, Aidan controlled Ander’s lightning that flowed across the air above them. Through that, Yin helped explain how mana works by using the lightning around them as an example. It definitely took some effort, but Aidan made it so that even touching the lightning wouldn’t hurt, allowing Haley, Van, Bill, and even Nicky who already had the skill Mana Sense to learn how lightning mana works.
He was first worried on whether making them learn mana through the lightning would force them to attune only to the lightning affinity, but Yin made that entirely pointless to feel as she dispersed the lightning with a strong sense of will, something that felt akin to Aidan’s own control of his Craft spell, only pulling out the mana inherent within. It was just a flowy and smoky sense of energy left behind, but it was definitely mana in its rawest form.
After a few hours of concentrating on these types of raw mana, eventually the seemingly impossible became possible.
“I did it!” Haley shouted, her hands punching the air in cheer. “I learned Mana Sense!”
Everyone congratulated her, with Yin praising her that she attained the skill a lot faster than she had predicted. Both Van and Bill were still trying hard, but they were both glad to see Haley succeed. She later explained that she possibly had her talent help out in this, using the feeling of searching for treasure as a reference to find and sense the mana within.
Deciding it was best, Yin separated both Haley and Aidan from their lesson so that Aidan could help Haley learn how to use different elements using his Craft as a reference. Considering that she wanted to learn how to use wind affinity mana, he crafted the air around him and let Haley feel the wind around her, trying to sense the mana that he was using to cultivate the wind. At the same time, he still kept Area Field and Craft around the lightning so that Yin could use it to help Van and Bill further along.
They continued on like this for a while before Aidan sensed someone approaching, her familiar soul catching his attention and making him call out to her.
“Hey, you’re back!” Aidan shouted to Nina who approached the group with a curious look.
“What’s going on here?” She asked, looking over at the group huddled together on the ground with various lightning bolts flying through the air like swimming fish in water.
“A magic lesson,” Aidan said, pointing at Haley. “She learned how to use Mana Sense.”
“Oh? Congratulations,” Nina said, genuinely happy according to her soul as she smiled at her. “It took me quite a bit of time to learn that skill myself.”
“I, uhh, just had luck with my talent, I guess,” Haley quickly grew embarrassed, perhaps not used to Nina giving her an honest compliment.
“No reason to put down your efforts,” Nina said, shaking her head. “I also used my talent to make it easier to learn how to sense mana, and that only made casting spells a lot easier.”
“Oh, really?” Haley asked. “Can I ask what kind of magic you cast?”
“Well… I suppose there’s no reason to hide from you. Though I prefer you keep this quiet. I use space magic.”
The reveal definitely surprised not just Haley, but Aidan as well. His eyes opened wide at the revelation.
Unlike the normal elements, affinities that used concepts were a lot more complex to understand. Aidan himself had a tough time understanding how to craft the air due to how hard it was to visualize how to use it compared to crafting earth, yet he managed to do so after studying his own magic after a while.
If he kept focusing, he figured he could also even craft the space around him, but just even trying to do so felt like throwing a heavy stone into the ocean, expecting it to land on the water’s surface and leave it there rather than immediately dropping into the sea. It felt so out of his depth to even try that he knew first hand that his spell wasn’t powerful enough to do so, or perhaps he didn’t have the understanding to even try.
But Nina was somehow able to use space magic?
“How the hell did you do that?” Aidan had to ask.
“I read quite a lot of books in my spare time, some of them so valuable that they wouldn’t be available for public use,” Nina explained. “As you might expect, it’s not easy to learn, but it has many uses that I like. I’m afraid I can’t exactly teach you how to use it though. It’s a hard enough affinity to even learn about, much less actually use it.”
Aidan had expected as much. It goes to show just how resourceful Nina was, managing to get her hands on something as powerful as space magic by her side. He recalled how she threw knives seemingly out of nowhere. He thought she just pulled them out of her spatial bag, but could it be that she had them stored in some spatial hole that she personally control? There were too many variables to even consider.
“T-That’s fine,” Haley shook her head. “I don’t want to waste your time. I’m planning on learning how to use wind magic instead.”
“That’s a good element to study,” Nina said. “But that doesn’t mean you have to force yourself to stay with just one element. It will be difficult, but there are people that have talents in manipulating different types of magic, so there’s no reason to not try them out.”
“I’ll take that into consideration,” Haley said, sounding more than pleased to hear that.
“Good. But I hadn’t come here to help teach magic. I’m here to offer something to our dear hero of Forontia,” Nina said, turning to Aidan. “I have something for you. I think it’s best to take it now.”
Aidan quickly took interest when Nina pulled something out of her wonder bag, showing what looked like a bottle with intricate design etched onto the very glass itself. It looked very ornate, with even a stopper that looked top grade in quality.
But that alone wasn’t enough. He sensed it through Sense Vibrations, giving off incredible frequencies that seemed to go beyond normal. He wasn’t sure what it was, but he knew for sure that it was potent, perhaps even more so than the enhancement pill he took earlier. When he scanned it, he wasn’t at all surprised at the outcome.
Soul-Restorative Panacea (Epic)
An incredible restorative concoction created using ingredients steeped in age and power. One of which was a branch belonging to the Great Tree known to take in incredible bouts of healing mana. It directly affects the soul of the drinker, allowing the effects of the panacea to cleanse any and all abnormalities that currently affect the body.
“Holy shit, are you serious?”
Aidan kept staring at the bottle once it was handed to him, dumbfounded at the sight. The others quickly noticed his exclamation, gathering around them. He looked back up to Nina, who in turn gazed at him expectantly.
“Seriously, how much did it cost you to get this?”
“A certain amount, and I had to pull in some favors,” Nina said, sounding exhausted according to her tone. “Let’s just say that we owe more to Madam Welsh than before, as she was the one who took the time and energy to find it for you. She says that it’s to thank you for your service, but we both know she plans on milking this relationship of ours for the remainder of her old life.”
“Hell, she can have anything she wants at this point,” Aidan said. It really was thanks to Madam Welsh as without her and her gift of the pill, the city probably wouldn’t even be standing at this point.
It was so valuable that if she had sold it like any other person, she would be living like a noble in a far-off location. In the end, she saved it for such a day when the city attacked, but that didn’t mean she did it out of the kindness of her heart. Nina knew of this, so it was more surprising to find out that Welsh continued helping her.
“Well, it’s not anything we need to worry about for now, since she’s already privy to my plans for the future,” Nina said, then switching her gaze to the bottle. “But in the end, I’m not sure if it would work on you. Do you think it would work?”
“Only one way to find out.”
Aidan rolled up his pant leg, revealing the earthen prosthetic he made for himself. With a touch of will, the leg disconnected from his stump, revealing the sickeningly dark spot that covered the front. He also rolled up his other arm stump, revealing the same thing. He had them hidden for a reason, as looking at them only made the others wince at the sight.
Showing no reason to hesitate, Aidan pulled the stopper out with his teeth and downed the entire thing. Despite fearing for it, there was no hint of bitterness. In fact, it tasted oddly sweet, like honeyed water.
But it wasn’t the taste that took his attention, but the energy that was packed within the liquid. As soon as it hit his insides, the energy from within the liquid exploded outward in a cascade of healing energy that cleansed everything.
Then, as though it had a will of its own, the energy flowed seamlessly across his body and straight into the two affected areas, right into his infected limbs. It specifically targeted the residual curse that lingered there, hunting them down like a pack of wolves closing in on their prey.
It immediately took effect, the healing energy crashing into the dark motes stuck within his body and eating them straight through. The process was agonizing as the dark splotch on his stumps slowly receded, Aidan feeling every bit of the curse being eaten away in return.
He winced, but it was nowhere near as bad as the others made it out to be, their faces horrified when they heard the sickening noise of his limbs getting eaten through the splotches covering his stumps.
Finally, after a few seconds of the sharp pain and recovery, the dark splotches vanished entirely, leaving only completely bare and pink-like skin on his stumps.
“It worked!” Aidan shouted in joy, flinging his stumps around as if to show them off to the others. The small group cheered for him, Nina looking more than pleased at the result.
“Now it’s time for the next best thing,” Aidan grinned, then used all of his boosting abilities to maximize his spell. “Heal!”
Aidan lifted his arm stump up, and as soon as he did, he felt his mana channeling straight into his arm and forcing the closed stump to expand. The stump squelched as bones first appeared, appearing as though they were growing out of his own flesh. The sight alone got Bill to retch, the others quickly following his sentiment with disgusted looks at the sight.
But it only got worse from there as the bones were quickly covered by nerves, then veins, then finally muscle and tissue. It was slow at first, but everyone could see the process plainly for themselves as his energy restored his arm fully. Finally at the end, his hand finally emerged, with fingernails and all.
It took several minutes of this happening, but he kept his focus as he knew the process was entirely possible with his specific healing. He knew that his Heal was completely different from what other healers might have, as his was directly connected to harmony that used every other type of affinity possible to create his arm fully. The healers, primarily from the churches, would probably use holy magic rather than use the different kinds of magic that existed, making them limited in some ways.
But for Aidan, he could use it fully to the point where he could restore his limbs back to normal. After flexing his fingers, his hand felt incredibly numb, but he knew it was only temporary as the feeling was slowly returning, his body connecting to the nerves that were newly grown.
“Oh my god…” Nicky muttered aloud. “Y-You really did heal your arm back.”
Aidan continued by going ahead and restoring his leg back, going through the same process. He only felt giddy as he slowly got his leg back, eventually allowing him to stand up on his own two feet a few minutes later. He felt every toe on his naked feet and stomped on it a few times. He even jumped up slightly, doing a short boxer routine as he jumped and punched the air, feeling every bit of his limbs to their fullest extent.
“Haha! I’m back, baby! Whoo!”
Aidan cheered for himself while the others just watched, dumbfounded. Yin, on the other hand, was the only one who expressed her joy at his recovery, even clapping by herself with a smile on her face.
“I’m so happy for you, Aidan,” Yin said, her joy clearly expressed through her soul. “It was difficult to see you in such a state for so long after everything that you have done for us. I must make sure to properly thank this Madam Welsh as well.”
“Knowing her, she would be glad if you did her some favors,” Nina said, shaking her head. “But now we have our residential hero on the market. And I believe you’ve had enough vacation time as well, wouldn’t you agree?”
“Putting me back to work as soon as I recovered?” Aidan joked, shrugging. “Ah well, guess that’s fine. What’s the next job?”
“Something that I’m sure only you can manage,” Nina said, her hands placed on her hips with a grin. “It’s time to clean up the only dirt left smearing my great city–the Grim Corner.”
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!
Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter