NOVEL NEXT chapter 11
11 – Mana Arrhythmia(2)
Lei wraps her body with her arms.
Her face flushes hotly, presumably under the impression that some manipulation is afoot.
Before Kariel could jump to unjustified conclusions, I opened my mouth first.
“It’s to alleviate your mana arrhythmia.”
“Huh? Alleviate?”
Her eyes widened at the unexpected words.
No one has ever said they could alleviate her condition.
Regardless of any doctor or priest.
“Is that possible?”
“Yes. While a complete recovery is not possible right now.”
It was hard for her to believe.
Her own master, Swordsaint, had traveled far and wide to cure this disease.
But, despite fervent struggles, there was no sign of hope.
“Why did the Swordsaint leave your disease untreated?”
“He didn’t leave it untreated.”
“Hm?”
“He sought out every priest and doctor to treat this disease, but there seemed no signs of cure.”
“Hmm…”
Indeed, it seems difficult to cure that disease with a priest or a doctor.
An ominous energy flux in her body’s magic circuit.
To repair it requires proficient handling of magic.
‘And a frost flower is needed too.’
What a bizarre coincidence.
Right now, Sarial had just commissioned me to obtain a frost flower.
“So, what is Kensung doing now?”
“Master left me at the academy, aiming to find a cure.”
So he wasn’t just standing around.
Sure, he’s obsessed with the sword, but he wouldn’t abandon his own pupil.
Karyel silently sized her up.
“So, the reason for all the training so far was to slow down the growth of this dark energy, I guess.”
“Yes, by moving my body and generating heat, the growth of this negative energy slows.”
Well, definitely, that reason isn’t incorrect.
If no one else interferes, it turns out to be the most appropriate method.
“Alright, before you take off your top, try moving around.”
“Sorry?”
“We must see your movements before alleviating it for comparison, right?”
“Ah, I see. I understand.”
She nodded and lifted her sword.
Then, she recalled the swordsmanship taught by Kensung, the Sword Saint.
-Whoosh! Whoosh!
With movements that seem like one with the sword, she starts her dance.
Her form is so flawless as to capture anyone’s attention.
An average swordsman wouldn’t fully understand that swordsmanship.
However, she was not chosen by the Sword Saint for nothing. She managed to perform his swordsmanship almost perfectly.
But then,
-Whoosh!
Undoubtedly due to the magic blockage syndrome, her sword’s energy is brimming with gloom.
Furthermore, the more she moves, the more her swordplay slows down, like freezing over.
“Let’s stop there.”
“Yes. Phew.”
She lets out a new breath and stops her sword dance.
Kael gives her feedback.
“You certainly have the talent worthy of a disciple chosen by Kensung.”
“Thank you.”
“However, you move too honestly like Low. I’ll have to give you a proper look later.”
Normally, she wouldn’t pay attention to those words.
But, considering the performance he displayed this morning, she can’t afford to let it go in one ear and out the other.
After all, she wonders if his power may rank on par with her master.
“Yes, I understand.”
“Now, take off your top.”
She swallows nervously, giving him a serious look.
-Gulp!
The next moment, she swallows dryly and slowly begins to undo her buttons.
– Pop! Pop!
The sound of her unbuttoning resounds in the training hall.
Maybe because it’s empty, the sound seems disproportionately loud.
With flushed ears, she removes her shirt.
– Swoosh.
For a moment, her ample chest jiggles.
She was so embarrassed that a moan escaped from her mouth.
“Geez!”
Lei rolls her eyes to glance at Kael standing behind her.
Suspicious that he might have tricked her into this for an eyeful.
Although she knows it’s not the case, she couldn’t help doubting.
After checking, however…
“It seems like there’s nothing to worry about, thankfully.”
Kael was just observing, with his usual emotionless gaze.
‘Come to think of it, he had that same gaze on the first day.’
Normally, if one is appointed to an S-rank team, they would smile politely.
No, rather, it is clear that he will try to make friends with the students somehow.
Because, after all, these students in the S grade class are the talents who will lead humanity in the future.
Yet, the man in front of them treats them all the same, with a neutral expression.
He treats them just as fairly as the students from other classes.
Because of this, she felt strangely novel.
– Click!
At that moment, when she was about to take off her bra.
“You don’t have to take it off.”
“Oh, yes!”
Kael, who was behind, stops her.
Ray, whose face was hot for no reason, hastily put on the bra she had untied behind her.
Kael opened his mouth while looking at her.
“I’m going to start now. No matter what happens, you must not move. Concentrate.”
“I understand.”
Upon Kael’s warning, she nodded her head.
The next moment.
– Thwack!
Kael’s palm touched her back.
She could feel the warm touch from her back, but she closed her eyes, pretending to seem unfazed.
Kael closed his eyes slow
However, upon a thorough examination of her body, he found it was in a far worse condition than he expected.
‘I can’t believe she managed to execute that swordsmanship in such a state.’
If we were to discuss her current condition, it would be no surprise if her body broke down at any given moment.
In his opinion, if left as it was, she probably wouldn’t have survived another two years.
That’s how dire Rei’s condition was.
‘She’s akin to a terminal patient.’
With that thought in mind, Kael slowly began to dissolve the negative energy present in her circuits.
He might not be able to fully remove it, but it should be enough to alleviate it.
“Ugh!”
Rei grunted each time a small piece was dissolved.
In addition to this, cold sweat streamed down from her body.
Kael, undeterred by Rei’s reaction, continued to pour his energy into her.
Then, a moment later..
‘Phew.’
He finally succeeded in alleviating the negative energy in her circuits.
As he focused, cold sweat trailed down his forehead.
“You went through so much, Rei.”
“…”
Rei remained silent at his remark.
She would have loved to respond to those words.
However, due to the feelings she had never experienced before, she couldn’t find the room to answer.
Until now, how much effort had been made to alleviate this disease?
No matter the specialist or priest, they all had the same answer.
-‘I’m sorry, M’lady. No matter how I think about it, I can’t find a way to heal or even mitigate the symptoms. It’s beyond my abilities.’.
Her life was as bleak as it could get.
As time went by, she felt her body gradually growing colder.
Time and again, she swung the sword in a futile attempt to slow down the negative energy’s growth within her.
But what would that accomplish?
In the end, all it amounted to was a desperate struggle.
Hadn’t the doctor mentioned before that if things stayed this way, he would die within two years?
In the end, left with no other choice, Gomseong requested the chairman to enroll him in the academy.
He had said previously that if the person in question was someone he knew, there might be a chance of recovery.
However, as he only knew the face of the person, he’d need to find him firsthand.
Thus, his mentor embarked on the mission to find him…
‘I never imagined the academy would be the place of such recovery…’
An unexpected person had shown up who could alleviate his magical thrombosis.
At that moment, when Ray was flabbergasted,
“Ray, are you okay?”
Kariel, who was standing behind him, asked.
Apparently, he had been so immersed in his emotions.
She replied with a nod of her head,
“Yes, I just didn’t expect to actually recover…”
“Yeah. More importantly, get changed quickly.”
“Oh…!”
The moment Kariel completed his sentence, Ray’s mind flashed back to what had happened before.
The moan that escaped her lips every time he treated her.
Her face turned red at the mere thought that she let out such sounds while she was undressed.
“Cough, uh.”
She then hastened to change her clothes.
Just then,
“Pr, pro, professor?”
“Kariel?”
A surprising voice echoed in her ears.
Both turned their heads.
That’s when they saw Maria and instructor Nel, in charge of class B, secretly looking towards them with their eyes covered by their hands.
The look in their eyes was completely cold.