Chapter 733: Mana Pool

Elion frowned as he considered what he had learned. His contract with Kali might not guarantee her safe exit after all, and then there was Eva.

If he took her out with them without knowing about the tether, would she simply die?

He couldn’t help but feel attached to the little girl. Perhaps it was only pity, but whatever the case, he didn’t like the thought of leaving her here, much less unknowingly taking her to her death.

’What a troublesome situation.’

Everything seemed to point toward finding Albert and his people. He could tell them what he knew and try to cooperate with them, assuming they even believed him.

If they didn’t, well, there was only so much he could do. He wasn’t going to chase them around and beg them to let him save their lives.

But before that, there was something he needed to confirm.

’System, could Kali take these inheritance trials? She’s a native of this world, isn’t she?’

[It is possible. She may not be a descendant of the formation’s creator, but the condition specifies a native, not a descendant.]

’So there’s a loophole.’

[Potentially. However, the host should consider what allowing her to inherit the formation would mean.]

Elion rubbed his chin. Completing the trials would give Kali control over far more than her own tether. She would inherit the formation, and through it, this entire legacy world and its people.

[The host does not have complete control over her. Unless you already trust her with such power, negotiating with Albert before proceeding may be preferable.]

’Right...’

He glanced toward Kali. They had gotten along quite well since forming their contract, but it hadn’t been very long ago that she had been deciding how best to eat him and his companions.

He would have to be an idiot to forget that just because she had become pleasant company.

"What?" Kali asked. "You’ve been looking at me for a while now."

"I was thinking that you might be able to take the trials."

"I thought so." She nodded. "I received some of the information you did. Not all of it, but enough to understand what you’re considering."

"And?"

"I would like to know more before agreeing to anything. I’m somewhat proficient with formations, but this one is far beyond anything I’ve worked with."

Elion raised a brow.

"You understand formations?"

"Somewhat," she repeated, giving him a displeased look. "Why do you sound so surprised?"

Now that he thought about it, he probably shouldn’t have been. That powerful formation, concealing her underground settlement, had been enough to keep it entirely out of his sight.

There was no way something like that could have been maintained without at least some understanding of how it worked.

"I suppose that explains the barrier around your settlement."

"That was already there," Kali replied. "I simply made a few adjustments."

"Oh."

So she hadn’t created it herself. Perhaps it had been part of the ruins above, or rather, whatever structure had stood there before it crumbled. The barrier had endured even after so much of the place had been destroyed, which said plenty about whoever had made it.

"How much of this formation do you understand, then?" he asked.

"Bits and pieces. Barely a fraction of the whole thing," she admitted. "Knowing what a small part does doesn’t mean I understand how it works with everything else."

Elion nodded. Even with the system’s help, he had only managed to understand a few important details. Expecting Kali to make sense of the entire formation simply because she was a Saint would have been unreasonable.

"Are either of you going to tell me what the hell is happening?"

They turned toward Althea. She had put her sabers away, but she looked no less annoyed as she watched them.

"You both collapse, then start discussing trials and formations while ignoring every question I ask. What did that mural do to you?"

Elion and Kali exchanged a glance.

"We’ll explain once we’ve regrouped with everyone," he said. "I wouldn’t want to repeat myself. Trust me, there’s a lot of information."

Althea frowned. "Then we should return."

"Soon," Elion replied, looking around the chamber. "There’s still something I want to find out before we leave."

He watched the mana moving through the grooves beneath their feet. Even after everything he had seen, he still didn’t know why so much of it was gathering here and leaking into the world above.

"Where exactly is all this pure mana coming from?"

A continuous creaking came from outside, probably from the stones floating around the spire. Occasionally, a distant eruption interrupted it, the roar of exploding lava reaching them through the entrance.

Elion turned his attention toward the mana flowing beneath their feet. With his eyes’ perception, he followed its movement through the grooves, looking past the stone to see where it was coming from.

His brows rose.

There was nothing else within the chamber, but beneath it was an entirely different matter. A pool lay directly below them.

’No way...’

At first, he thought it was water. But the longer he looked, the more certain he became that the shimmering liquid was something else entirely.

Liquidized mana!

"What did you find?" Kali asked.

Elion crouched and placed a hand against the floor. "You’ll see."

He carefully manipulated the stone, drawing it aside to create a small, square opening. Luminous blue light spilled into the chamber as the last layer parted, revealing a shimmering surface just beneath them.

Althea stepped closer, and even Kali looked surprised.

The liquid was so clear that Elion could see farther into the pool, though its gentle glow made judging the depth difficult. A misty layer floated above it, slowly rising through the opening before spreading into the chamber.

He breathed it in.

A rush of power spread through his body, and his core greedily absorbed the mana. Simply crouching above the opening felt far more effective than meditating anywhere he had been before.

"This is liquidized mana," he said, almost laughing. "All of it."

He reached down, dipping his hands beneath the surface. It felt cool against his skin, and when he lifted a little between his cupped palms, faint wisps rose from the liquid slipping between his fingers.

"Elion, perhaps you should..."

He brought it to his mouth and drank. A pop went off in his ears.

Elion shuddered as the liquidized mana rushed through his body. He could feel it moving through him, gathering around his core before condensing and compressing into it.

[XP Gained: 50,000]

His eyes widened.

Fifty thousand from a single mouthful.

His heartbeat quickened as he looked from the notification to the pool beneath his hands. He had just spent two million points to gain two levels, and now a little of this liquid had given him fifty thousand experience points.

"Oh, my god!"

Althea frowned. "What?"

"This stuff is incredible."

She looked as though she wanted to reprimand him for drinking something he had barely examined, but Kali had already crouched beside him. She dipped a hand into the pool, briefly inspected the water, then drank.

Her eyes widened as well.

For a moment, she said nothing, concentrating on what was happening within her body. Then she looked down at the opening again.

"Well?" Althea asked.

Kali smiled. "He’s right."

That was enough to convince the paladin. She knelt beside them and gathered a mouthful of her own, drinking it more cautiously than either of them had.

A surprised breath escaped her.

The exhaustion from their long descent eased, and mana flowed through her body with a purity she rarely encountered. Despite the restrictions upon her strength, she could still feel her core responding, absorbing the energy as it gathered within her.

The effect wasn’t nearly as exaggerated for her or Kali. They were already far stronger than Elion, and even mana this potent could only do so much for cores at their level.

But neither looked disappointed.

Elion watched them for a moment before turning back toward the shimmering pool. He had been hoping to find something valuable down here, but this was already far beyond what he had expected.