Elixir
TL/ED: Lolz
The purification process was quickly completed.
“Hoo.”
Dense vapor spread through the holes in the ceiling.
Silvia stared blankly at Ian, wiping the sweat from his forehead.
‘……’
There was no longer any room for admiration.
“Why are you spacing out? Let’s go. There will only be water left.”
“…Huh? Yes!”
Since the boss monster probably absorbed all the mana, Ian suggested moving on without worries. Silvia mindlessly followed behind Ian.
It was unimaginable for her present self to think that this person could be wrong about something.
They arrived at the center after overcoming the lowered water level.
Due to the thick water vapor, the scenery was eerie.
At that moment.
— Thud thud thud.
A sound, as if something was stirring underground, reached their ears.
“Ian, just now…!”
— Thud thud thud thud.
The ground trembled slightly.
A chilling sound that drew closer.
Something was rising from the ground.
— Kugugugugung!
The earth vibrated.
And a growing sense of presence.
A warning intuition of endless danger and ominousness.
— Kwa-ga-ga-gak!
The ground erupted.
Between cascading soil and gravel, a monstrous figure emerged.
A plant that looked like a Venus flytrap.
However.
Its stem could be compared to a building’s pillar, and the size of its leaves was large enough to swallow several people at once.
— Thud thud thud!
With a rough noise, it grotesquely spread its leaves.
The sharp thorns at the tip of the leaves seemed as if dozens of swords were stabbed.
Seeing its monstrous appearance, Silvia unconsciously took a few steps back.
“Ah…”
Trembling legs.
All she could do was muster the strength to hold onto her legs, trying to free them.
It wasn’t because of its appearance.
It was the resonance with the mana felt inside the creature.
It was a creature that rooted deep underground, consuming mana greedily in a grotesque manner.
The traces of various mana felt inside its belly were enough to create the illusion that countless mages’ corpses were piled up.
Instinctive aversion as a mage.
“Ugh…”
Silvia barely swallowed her nausea.
Despite her high tolerance, mental strength and top ranking at the Academy, this situation got to her.
She murmured towards Ian.
“…It’s a Grade 6 or higher monster. Feels like the beginning of Grade 5. Not an opponent to face lightly with just two studends…”
Suddenly, Silvia stopped talking.
Ian, whom she thought was tense, was actually smirking.
‘… He’s not nervous?’
◆
‘Ah, it must be delicious.’
Ian couldn’t resist the rising curve of his lips.
No, it was understandable.
The energy felt inside that creature.
That was all purified mana.
There might have been a bit of impure magic mixed in, but it should be fine after purification.
‘Kkuuuh…’
Gulp.
Swallowing his saliva, Ian looked at the boss in front of him.
[Mana Venus Flytrap (Grade 5 Hazardous Species, Giant, Poisonous)]
— A monster that devours magical entities with its vicious leaves. In the presence of sufficient surrounding mana, it may utilize only its roots, causing the leaves to degenerate. If processed properly, its byproducts could be useful.
If this were a game, a notification like this would pop up.
In short, it was an ultra-giant flytrap, only absorbing mana instead of flies.
The decision to challenge it was due to the potentially high rewards it offered.
Moreover, if the conditions were met, the difficulty of the challenge would be relatively easy.
The only concern was Silvia, who might be overwhelmed by its Grade.
“Silvia, as I said before…”
“Yes. I will follow through precisely.”
Before he knew it, determination returned to Silvia’s eyes.
Certainly, she was still Aether class.
Ian nodded in satisfaction.
In truth, Silvia had only recently decided to trust Ian. After all, Ian had known even the Frost Bear’s weaknesses. If she could exploit the weaknesses effectively, the difficulty of dealing with monsters would inevitably plummet. With that in mind, Silvia positioned herself behind Ian.
“Let’s go.”
In an instant, Lunar enveloped Ian’s body.
With his reinforced physique, Ian rushed towards the Mana Flytrap.
The leaves of the flytrap moved creakily.
“Silvia, as bright as possible, please.”
“Yes!”
– Paaat!
Light magic burst from Silvia’s fingertips, instantly brightening the surroundings as if it were broad daylight.
– GOOOOOO!
The Mana Flytrap, glowing as if it had absorbed the concentrated sunlight through a magnifying glass.
Creatures living in such damp places were naturally sensitive to magic.
Divine power and light.
These two special elements significantly impaired their judgment, vision, and reaction speed.
A perfect debuff.
That was one reason Ian brought Silvia to this place.
– Kuuuuuung!
The creature’s large leaf hit an odd spot on the ground.
Ian quickly jumped onto it.
As the creature’s leaves spread open, a red light emanated from inside.
Magical energy sprayed out.
The Mana Flytrap’s main attack pattern: Acidic Magic Eruption.
Originally, it was a corrosive liquid potent enough to completely dissolve a human body.
— Chiiiiik!
With the Lunar’s power surrounding him, and the Dishwashing ability, Ian was immune to the acid.
“No way, brat.”
The Mana Flytrap’s leaf closed again in an instant.
The sharp thorn at its tip pierced sharply towards Ian.
“Ugh.”
– Hooook!
An already anticipated pattern.
Ian stepped back and avoided it.
Simultaneously, he deactivated the Lunar’s protective mode, leaving only the essential parts.
The Lunar staff transformed back to the size of a bat, and Ian swung it with all his might.
— Kaaaang!
A cheerful impact.
The creature’s thorns teeth shattered.
— Kkkeeeek!
The opened leaf was closed again.
If there was a weakness to the Mana Flytrap, it was the red core inside the leaf.
“Silvia, now!”
“Yes!”
A 4-star attack magic: Light Reflection.
Countless beams of light gathered as if passing through a magnifying glass, piercing directly into the Mana Flytrap.
— Kkeeeeek!
A chilling scream accompanied the penetration into the creature’s core.
Ian swiftly propelled himself inside and thrust his fist into the center of the core.
— Kuuuuuung!
The Mana Flytrap, now limp, collided heavily with the ground.
Ian opened the now-closed leaf and came out.
Silvia’s eyes were wide in surprise.
“We, we caught it… a Grade 5 Hazardous Species.”
“You did well too. The situation was favorable.”
Even if the leaf had degenerated, a Grade 5 Hazardous Species was still a Grade 5 Hazardous Species.
Thanks to purifying the mana-filled lake, the Mana Flytrap concentrated on absorbing pure mana, unable to unleash its full power.
A natural and smooth strategy.
The situation was indeed favorable.
“What a favorable situation, you say… No, more importantly, Ian, what on earth…”
Silvia muttered excitedly.
It was still too early to be surprised.
Without saying a word, Ian walked towards the stem of the flytrap.
Then, he released magic into the ground.
Roots of the flytrap came into view.
“Do you have anything like a saw or a sword?”
“Uh, just a moment.”
— Squeak, squeak.
The sound of sawing reached their ears.
Ian, holding several round pearl-like objects, emerged from the direction of the roots.
Silvia’s eyes widened.
“…Is, is that what I think it is?”
“Yeah. Mana Elixir.”
Grinning, Ian’s mouth corners lifted.
The Mana Flytrap, having absorbed mana flowing from the mountains for centuries,
Naturally absorbed and refined mana gathered into crystallized form, forming elixir in its purest, natural state.
Ian extended one of the five spheres he held in his hand towards Silvia.
“Here.”
“…Are you giving this to me? I remember we agreed that I would only take the stem and thorns of the Mana Flytrap. The rest is yours.”
“That’s right.”
But, in any case, he couldn’t absorb all five elixirs alone.
Typically, the effects of an elixir would work best if taken one at a time.
While it was possible to consume them all haphazardly, there was no reason to do so.
“Take it. You know how much this will help you.”
Silvia pursed her lips.
“But what about compensation? I am an heiress, but my personal wealth is not that substantial. I can’t even offer you the top stakes yet.”
“Don’t worry about it. Pay me in installments, with interest if you want.”
“Ah.”
Silvia nodded her head as if she understood.
As a student of the Lichten Academy, she couldn’t easily pass up opportunities for growth.
Of course, Ian intended to collect both the principal and the interest.
“Consume it as soon as you get back.”
Silvia opened her mouth as she looked at Ian, who remained silent.
“Why are you treating me so well? Last time too… Of course, I’ll repay you, but what do you gain from this?”
It seemed like she was genuinely curious about the context behind her question.
Ian paused for a moment before responding.
“What do I gain?”
“Yes.”
Of course, it was a transaction to a certain extent.
Even though Ian was selling things he didn’t consider important to him, he was still making money from Silvia.
In a word, it was a win-win situation for both Ian and Silvia.
The question of why he treated her so well, in that context, seemed to be what Silvia was curious about.
The reason for providing her with opportunities to purchase special items first.
The same reason he gave her a chance to buy information during the Frost Bear incident.
Since that reason would be intriguing, Ian answered Silvia, who was looking at him seriously.
It was clear what he gained.
“You.”
“…Me?”
Items? Information? Money?
All of those were important.
However, forming a connection and repaying a debt to someone who understood gratitude was more valuable.
Especially if that person was someone certain to succeed.
Thus, what remained for Ian from Silvia Laurent was her individuality.
“Yeah. You remain.”
Ian was straightforward.
◆
The next day.
Chapter 1, the beginning of the first act.
Steam rose from Ian’s body as he sat up from the lotus positon.
“Hoo.”
Having perfectly digested the Mana Flytrap’s Elixir, Ian got up from his seat.
The mana absorbed and refined over centuries by the creature now doubled Ian’s pure, accumulated natural Earth mana.
Now, he possessed an amount of mana equivalent to the size of a child’s fist.
If he processed the by-products obtained from the Mana Flytrap into a weapon, it could potentially be used against the unexpected main villain of Act 1.
“Hmm.”
Ian recalled the attack he received from her not too long ago.
The attack that nullified the Lunar’s buffering effect in a single blow.
The owner of that attack and the main villain of Act 1’s scenario, Lina Rosewell.
“It might be worth a try.”
Sigh.
The corners of Ian’s mouth twitched upward.
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