'Damn it...'
Alice bit her lip hard as she felt her mana circuits, stiff as a statue.
'So it's not working after all.'
She thought she was mentally and physically prepared when she started her cultivation, but the Dragon Heart's mana was leaking between her cursed, solidified mana circuits and energy center.
'I haven't lost that much yet. But if this continues throughout the cultivation...'
She would suffer a significant loss.
Due to the curse that ravaged her body, for every 10 units of mana she absorbed from the Dragon Heart, 4 were dissipating into thin air.
If this were temporary, she could accept it, but if she continued to lose mana like this, the loss would be enormous.
'The problem is...'
Alice shook her head as she felt the immense mana surging from the Dragon Heart.
'There's no way around it.'
Both her mana circuits and energy center were solidified, and since she had already begun cultivation, she couldn't stop or turn back now. Like words once spoken, the lost mana couldn't be retrieved.
'Raon. I'm sorry...'
Knowing her own talent, she had been confident until she started cultivation, even with her power bound to that damned sword. But it seems she was too hasty due to the frustration of not being able to do anything. After resting for so long and with the severity of her injuries, this was the result.
'If I'm not careful, I might not even reach Transcendence.'
If this continued, she would not only fail to reach her original level but might even stagnate at the Grandmaster level.
'No. I need to focus now.'
Alice slowly exhaled, forcing strength into her trembling fingertips. The tension of losing mana was also affecting her concentration. She had to give her all to cultivation now, or she might truly be ruined if she suffered any more losses.
'If not for myself, then for Raon.'
Her nephew, who had given her the Dragon Heart, comforted her, and was now standing guard, was watching. She had to overcome this no matter what. Alice gritted her teeth and focused on her cultivation when she felt a hand on her back. A warmth like sunshine. It was Raon's hand.
'Raon? What are you...'
As she was bewildered by his sudden touch, a warm energy flowed from Raon's hand. The mana Raon sent flowed smoothly through her cursed, solidified mana circuits and settled in her energy center as if it had always been her own.
'This is...'
The mana I lost. Raon was gathering the Dragon Heart's mana she had let slip and channeling it back to her, following the flow of her cultivation method to ensure she wouldn't lose it again.
'This is insane!'
You're putting yourself in danger too! Since Raon and she practiced different cultivation methods, interfering like this was risky for both of them. Yet Raon was seamlessly connecting the mana as if he were practicing the same method as her.
'Ah...'
Alice swallowed hard, tightening her grip on the Dragon Heart.
'Is this even possible?'
Even Father would find this difficult. It wasn't healing, nor was it pre-coordinated. Matching the mana flow to her needs would be challenging even for Glenn.
'I can't help but call this crazy.'
Alice couldn't help but laugh in disbelief at Raon's shocking ability to intervene suddenly and perfectly connect the mana.
'How much more do you plan to surprise me?'
She had been surprised when Raon killed the Blue Dragon, when he showed up more grown each time she saw him, and when he said he'd cut down the Black Tower Master in their last mission. She thought nothing Raon did could surprise her anymore, but here she was, astonished once again.
'Whew.'
Alice bit the tip of her tongue and nodded slightly.
'Enough thinking. Time to focus.'
Raon was going to such lengths for her. Now wasn't the time to thank him. Whether to express gratitude for his help or scold him for the risk, all that could wait until after the cultivation was done. Alice slowly exhaled, embracing the warm energy flowing from Raon's fingertips with her entire being.
'It's warm.'
Both Raon's hand and the mana he transmitted were warm. It felt like her frozen heart and body, pierced by Sif, were melting away. It even felt as if the curse itself was being lifted. Alice delved into a deep mental world, recalling her pleasant first meeting with Raon.
* * *
Raon nodded briefly as he watched Alice begin to properly absorb the Dragon Heart's mana.
'Fortunately, it worked.'
Given Alice's personality, he had thought she might refuse, saying it was dangerous for him. But she seemed to understand his intentions and calmly accepted his help.
-Even that troublemaker isn't a complete fool.
Wrath snorted, implying that while Alice might be simple, she wasn't an idiot.
'Troublemaker, huh...'
Raon smiled faintly as he accelerated the flow of mana circulating through Alice's body. The natural mana began to rapidly rotate, starting to melt her mana circuits that had been solidified by the curse.
'I've missed seeing her troublemaker side for a while. It would be nice if she came back to her old self.'
If asked who the freest person in Zieghart was, everyone would point to Alice. But after the incident with Sif, she had changed, showing only gloom. Hoping she would regain some of her spirit, Raon cultivated her aura as if it were his own.
As Raon was deeply immersed in manipulating Alice's aura, the Dragon Heart in her hand lost its light and crumbled into white powder.
All the mana maintaining the Dragon Heart had been drained, leaving it unable to even maintain its bone-like form.
'Now it begins.'
Raon carefully removed his hand from Alice's back. Now that the Dragon Heart's mana had settled in her energy center and mana circuits, it was her battle from here on. He silently stepped back and returned to his original role as a guardian.
'However...'
Raon licked his lips as he felt the nine rings circling his heart.
'The Ring of Fire becomes more fascinating the more I look at it.'
To be able to naturally interfere with another's cultivation method, the Ring of Fire was truly a versatile technique that could accomplish the impossible. It seemed to be the main reason for his rapid growth.
'It would have been nice if it had reached 10 stars.'
He remembered how the tenth ring had dispersed before completion in the Room of Self. He couldn't help but feel regret for not achieving it before leaving.
-You greedy bastard...
Wrath furrowed his brow in disbelief.
-You've raised two cultivation methods to 10 stars, improved your swordsmanship, body, and soul, and you're still not satisfied?!
He gritted his teeth, saying even Greed would have been momentarily satisfied with that much progress.
'Aren't I supposed to be a vessel for a demon god? I can't be satisfied with just that.'
Raon shrugged his shoulders as he looked at Wrath.
-Ah, well, that's true...
Wrath blinked, acknowledging his own absurd statement. He was still an adorable brat, no matter when you looked at him.
'Of course, it was scary in the Room of Self, but...'
Facing the real Wrath, not the cotton candy version, required more courage than he had imagined. If it hadn't been in the Room of Self, he might not have been able to stand properly.
'You're right. I'm still lacking.'
Raon calmly nodded and slowly activated the Ring of Fire.
'I should make the most of this time too.'
As he was cultivating, visualizing the 10th ring in his mind, Alice's body began to float in the air.
The mana particles spread throughout the cultivation room, no, the entire main building, surged like waves, blooming into blue-tinged flowers. The vibrant blossoms slowly faded as if their life cycle had ended, seeping into Alice's entire body.
After absorbing all the blue petals, Alice descended back to the ground. She shed a single, clear tear before opening her eyes.
Alice met his gaze with eyes filled with confidence and liveliness, just like when he first saw her.
"Thank you..."
Alice bit her trembling lip as she expressed her gratitude.
"Who are you?"
Raon recited the words he had spoken to her when he first awoke on Alice's pirate ship.
"What?"
"I asked who you are."
"I am..."
Alice, seeming to understand his intention, exhaled quietly and straightened her back.
"Alice Zieghart. That Alice Zieghart."
She calmly stated her name, similar to how she had answered him before.
"It seems you've finally returned."
Alice Zieghart, who had been buried underground after being stabbed by Sif's sword, had broken out of her own grave and walked out on her own. Though she hadn't fully recovered her martial prowess, it seemed the heaviness in her heart had finally lifted.
"Welcome back, Aunt. No..."
Raon shook his head as he lightly embraced Alice.
"Pirate King Alice Zieghart."
* * *
After leaving the exhausted Alice in Federick's care, Raon returned to the annex building. He was about to go straight to his room, tired from assisting with the cultivation for over two days, when he heard the sound of a sword being swung by the lake.
'Older Sister?'
As he moved closer, he saw Sia standing by the lake, practicing the Fangs of Insanity technique he had taught her.
-She's improved a lot.
Wrath smacked his lips, noting Sia's rapid progress.
'Yeah. It's faster than I expected.'
It was natural for Sia to progress quickly, given that she had originally been a Grandmaster, even if she had lost her memories. But even considering that, she was showing achievements beyond expectations.
'Could her talent be even greater than I thought?'
It seemed Sia possessed even greater talent than himself, who wielded the Ring of Fire. As Raon was marveling at this, the door to the annex opened, and Judiel came out, approaching him.
"She's changed a lot, hasn't she?"
Judiel nodded gently as she watched Sia swinging her sword with intense focus.
"She's been practicing swordsmanship from morning till night, saying she wants to strike as beautifully as you do, Lord Raon."
She smiled faintly, suggesting that Sia seemed to have fallen in love with the sword.
"From morning till night?"
If that was true, then this wasn't just the result of talent, but the product of hard work. He had only taught her on the off chance it might help, but he never expected her to work this hard.
"Of course, Lord Edgar is blaming you for ruining Lady Sia."
Judiel shook her head, explaining that Edgar was just sulking because he couldn't play with Sia anymore.
"I can understand that. He doesn't have much time left to treat her as his little girl."
Raon felt that Sia had matured a lot lately. If she had seemed around 5 years old when he first saw her, now she appeared to be over 10.
"Since you're here, why don't you give her some advice?"
Judiel raised her hand, asking Raon to observe Sia's swordsmanship.
"I think it's better to do that later."
Raon shook his head as he looked at Sia's back.
"She's in a state of deep concentration."
Right now, Sia was swinging her sword with complete focus, unaware that Raon and Judiel were there. At times like this, it was best not to interrupt and just quietly observe. Raon entered his room, listening to the refreshing sound of Sia's sword wind.
-You mustn't sleep now!
Wrath raised both hands in front of the bed.
-If you're going to sleep, eat first!
He wrinkled his nose, pleading for Raon to at least eat breakfast since he had been starving for over two days.
'I wasn't planning to sleep right away anyway. I still have something to do.'
-Oh! That's good! Then hurry and...
'I need to check the rewards.'
While Wrath was smiling, Raon brought up the reward messages he had dismissed in the cultivation room.
-Ugh...
Wrath froze mid-smile, seemingly having forgotten about the reward messages.
[You have achieved growth in the Room of Self.]
[You have experienced death 101 times.]
[All abilities increase by 50 points.]
-Aaargh!
Wrath let out a scream as if his throat was being torn apart upon seeing the third reward message.
-Stop bringing those up!
'I didn't check them properly.'
Raon laughed as he pressed down on Wrath's trembling head.
-Damn it, my hands shake every time I see this! What did this brat do to deserve 50 points?!
He gritted his teeth, wondering why Raon was given 50 points when he hadn't even killed a Transcendent like the Black Tower Master.
'Because I trained hard.'
-Everyone does that... Huh?
Wrath's eyes suddenly widened as he noticed something while ranting.
'Why are you...'
As Raon narrowed his eyes at Wrath, a new message appeared.
[A new trait has been created.]
'Crisis Detection?'
A special ability that can only be obtained by those who have experienced numerous deaths, allowing one to sense the approach of death in advance.
'Huh...'
Raon let out a sigh as he checked the details of Crisis Detection.
'This is actually useful, isn't it?'
According to its description, it meant that even if he encountered a Transcendent stronger than himself, he would rarely die from a single blow. Of course, its effectiveness would increase with its rank, but its mere existence was satisfying.
-C-Crisis Detection? Why the hell was this created!
Wrath screamed, claiming that an enormous amount of authority must have gone into creating the trait. He seemed to have been thinking about something, but apparently forgot it all upon seeing this trait.
'You're the one who created this for me.'
Raon gestured towards Wrath with his chin.
-Don't talk nonsense! Why would I create such a thing!
'Read the description carefully. It's a trait that wouldn't have been created if you hadn't killed me.'
Given that it's only granted to those who have experienced numerous deaths, it was clear that this trait was born because Wrath had repeatedly killed him.
-Ah, aah. Aaaaaargh!
Wrath screamed, clutching his head as if he had just realized this fact.
'It's not over yet. Please be quiet for a moment.'
Raon pushed aside the screaming Wrath and checked the next message.
[The rank of trait has increased.]
[The rank of trait has increased.]
[The rank of trait has increased.]
[The rank of trait has increased.]
[The rank of trait has increased.]
[The rank of trait has increased.]
[The rank of trait has increased.]
[The rank of trait has increased.]
[The rank of trait has increased.]
[The rank of trait has increased.]
[The rank of trait has increased.]
[The rank of trait has increased.]
The next messages were about trait rank increases. As the ranks of Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation and Glacier increased, the resistance and affinity for both attributes rose simultaneously.
'The death-related traits have also improved.'
Perhaps due to dying 100 times, the ranks of and , which could fight against the aura of death, had also increased simultaneously.
Additionally, thanks to constantly being with Wrath, the ranks of and had also increased.
-This is driving me crazy! Isn't this too much?!
Wrath swung his plump fist at the air, demanding to know why there were so many increases. As Raon watched Wrath's solo performance with amusement, the next message appeared.
[The rank of trait has increased.]
-Backstab?
Wrath lowered his eyebrows in disbelief.
-Why is this one increasing too?!
'This seems to be because of you too.'
Raon waved his hand dismissively.
-Huh? I've never been ambushed by you!
'You weren't ambushed, but I was.'
It seemed that the experience points for Backstab had greatly increased because he died from Wrath's ambushes every time they met. Whether he performed it or was on the receiving end, the experience gained was the same.
-Ah, I'm losing strength. I really won't do anything from now on...
Wrath muttered that he was exhausted and collapsed onto the bed. But the surprises for him were not over yet.
[The trait has evolved beyond its rank into a new trait [Specter].]
-S-Specter? Speeecter?
Wrath slammed the bed as soon as he saw the message about Specter.
-Specter my ass! I'll become the Specter! I'll kill everyone...
'Aren't you going to eat?'
-...I suppose I should.
It seemed that even a Specter couldn't overcome the need for food.