Chapter 208: Second Lesson Of Arcane

Elias and Monica lay together in the small bathing pool in the hideout, its warm water gently rippling around their bodies.

At the edge of the pool lay several headrests, and Elias rested his head against one of them while Monica lay comfortably against his body, with both of them gazing at the ceiling.

His left hand roamed gently over her body while his right hand caressed her breast, and Monica wore a peaceful smile as she enjoyed his touch.

"Can you teach me magic?" Elias asked after a while.

"Obviously, I can," Monica answered nonchalantly, shifting her head slightly to look at his face. "Why do you want to learn magic all of a sudden?"

"The more tools I have, the better, no?" he replied with a smile.

"Right..." She nodded, then added, "Or perhaps you want one tool that can do everything."

"Does something like that even exist?" Elias asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Nope." Monica shook her head, but a confident smile soon appeared on her face. "However, one day it will."

"You sound sure of that," he remarked.

"I am sure," she stated firmly. "I will make it happen."

"Of course," Elias whispered, wrapping his arms around her.

Monica smiled and closed her eyes.

After they finished bathing, their routine proceeded as usual, with Elias feeding Monica before the inevitable seizure struck her.

He quickly administered the antidote pill and stayed beside her until she recovered, but his concern grew as he watched the remaining supply dwindle.

Once Monica had rested, Elias pulled a chair beside her bed and settled into it while she lay against her pillows, ready to begin his first lesson in magic.

"Spellcasting has two types," she explained, looking at him as he listened attentively. "Arcane spellcasting and Natural spellcasting."

She paused briefly before continuing, "With the former, we use our mana veins as a magical formation to perform spells, whereas with the latter, we use our minds and imagination, much like how you perform healing magic."

Elias nodded slowly, trying to follow her explanation.

"Arcane spellcasting requires us to learn and remember the formations and methods of mana channeling designed by the mages who came before us," Monica continued. "Natural spellcasting, on the other hand, requires us to become one with mana."

Elias furrowed his brows, struggling to understand the latter, before muttering, "What does that mean?"

"I am getting to it," Monica replied, glaring at him.

"O-Okay," he mumbled, immediately shutting his mouth.

’She is kinda scary now...’ he thought.

"What we call Mana is actually a collection of countless individual elements, such as fire, water, lightning, ice, and so on," Monica explained.

"These elements exist together and form Mana, so when a mage wishes to create a particular phenomenon, there are two ways to accomplish it."

"First, we can strip Mana of every element except the one we need. Second, we can convert every other element into the one we need."

Elias frowned as he failed to understand and asked, "How do—"

However, the words died in his throat when Monica gave him a deadpan stare.

"Go ahead. Why stop now?" she muttered before clicking her tongue. "Tch."

Elias scratched his cheek with one finger and offered an awkward smile. "Sorry. I would not do it again."

"I hope you do not," she replied coldly.

A wry expression appeared on his face.

"To accomplish the first method, we use Arcane spellcasting, while the second requires Natural spellcasting," Monica continued.

"However, to perform the latter, we must first create Elemental Chakra, and to do that, we need to gather the individual elements from our surroundings."

She watched him for a moment to ensure he was following along before adding, "To achieve that, we need to meditate."

"Now, sit on the floor."

Elias nodded and followed her instructions without complaint, settling cross-legged on the ground before looking toward her for the next step.

"Close your eyes, open your Mind’s Eye, and peer into the Mana flowing through your mana veins," she instructed.

Elias closed his eyes and activated his Mind’s Eye, then spread his consciousness throughout his body to locate his mana veins before turning his attention toward the Mana flowing through them.

The moment he peered deeper, his senses began to grow dull, as though the world around him were gradually receding into the distance. Monica’s voice reached him as a faint echo; however, he could still understand her warning.

"If you feel as though you are losing yourself, immediately close your Mind’s Eye."

Elias nodded in acknowledgment before focusing on the Mana within his body.

"Now, think about the element you want to gather," Monica continued.

"You must not merely think about what it looks like, but also how it feels, what it makes you feel, and everything else you associate with it. The more you understand an element, the easier it will be to gather it."

She paused to let the explanation sink in before adding, "Even if you do not understand much about an element, you can still gather it by simply thinking about it, but that requires you to have a good affinity for it."

Elias remained silent, listening carefully as she continued explaining the principles behind elemental cultivation.

"Mages usually search for locations where a particular element is abundant so they can cultivate it more easily. For example, someone who wishes to cultivate Wind Elemental Chakra might travel to the Valley of Ceaseless Wind. However, some mages can accomplish the same thing through imagination alone."

Monica glanced at him, her expression becoming more serious as she gave him the final instruction.

"Now, think about the element you wish to cultivate while asking yourself questions about it."

Elias took a deep breath through his lips before turning his attention toward the first element he intended to gather.

Earth.

He began questioning himself about everything he knew of the element, considering its appearance, its weight, and the sensation of standing firmly upon the ground. He thought about the soil beneath his feet, the mountains that remained unmoved through countless seasons, and the solid foundation that allowed everything above them to stand.

As he continued contemplating those qualities, faint yellowish particles gradually appeared in the darkness behind his closed eyes.

Elias’s attention sharpened, but before he could become distracted by his discovery, Monica’s voice resounded beside him.

"Once you begin seeing individual elements, separate them from your Mana and gather them into the form of a ring."

Following her instructions, Elias attempted to isolate the yellowish particles and draw them together, but the process proved far more difficult than he had anticipated. Whenever he tried to gather them, the particles slipped away from his consciousness as though they were beyond his grasp, and the moment his concentration wavered, they vanished completely, forcing him to begin again.

Nevertheless, he continued trying, repeatedly searching for the scattered Earth Mana and attempting to draw it into a ring that would form his Elemental Chakra. The process demanded so much concentration that he gradually lost track of everything beyond the particles, and as time passed, his already dulled senses became even weaker.

He no longer noticed the warmth of the room or the faint sounds around him, while Monica’s voice grew increasingly distant until it barely reached his ears.

Then, after what felt like only a brief moment, her voice suddenly broke through the haze as a desperate whisper.

"Come out!"

Elias immediately closed his Mind’s Eye and blinked several times as the world around him returned to focus.

"What..." he mumbled, struggling to understand what had happened.

Before he could gather his thoughts, an orange screen appeared before his eyes.

[Ding!]

[Daily Query has been refreshed for Natasha Sephila!]

[You may ask a new question about her.]

Elias’s eyes widened as he read the notification, and he stared at it in disbelief before muttering, "A whole day passed...?"

"You fucking idiot! I told you not to dive too deep into it!" Monica spat, tears streaming down her face.

Elias turned toward her, startled by the sight of her tears, and stammered, "I... I..."

However, he couldn’t find an excuse to offer her, especially when he knew she had warned him about the danger beforehand.

In the end, he lowered his head and apologized, "I am sorry. I will make sure to be careful next time."

"Hmph!" Monica turned her face away from him, wiping at her tears as she muttered somberly, "You are stupid."

"Haha..." Elias scratched the back of his head awkwardly, unable to think of anything else to say.

He rose to his feet and climbed onto the bed before falling beside Monica and pulling her into his arms.

Rubbing his face against her head, he whispered, "I did not mean to worry you."

"I was not worried," she said in an annoyed yet embarrassed tone.

Elias chuckled. His hand moved down, held her ass, and began kneading it.

She felt the touch and stammered, "W-What are you doing?"

"What?" He whispered in her ear, then added, "I always wanted to do this."

Her face turned red. She pushed her head closer to his chest and simply fell silent, enjoying his touch.

After some time, they parted, shared a deep kiss, and he left the room.

He quickly walked to his room, worried about how Natasha might react to him not coming back.

However, when he reached the room, he found Natasha staring at Greta, who sat in a chair beside the bed, sewing something.

Her head wasn’t covered, so he could see her brown hair tied into a ponytail.

As he focused on the item she was sewing, he mumbled inwardly, ’That is Natasha’s gown...’

He furrowed his brows and walked inside.

Hearing his footsteps, Greta turned her head toward him, and for the first time, Elias saw her face.

Greta had fair skin, emerald-green eyes, sharp eyebrows, and faint freckles under her eyes.

Her expression soured upon seeing him, and Natasha’s voice resounded in his head. [I tore it while coming to get you.]

Elias looked at Natasha, who had a frown on her face, and said, [I will tell you what happened, but why is Greta sewing your gown? What about the servants?]

[The servants are busy preparing meals for everyone. Apparently, she used to cook for everyone before we moved her, so she has free time on her hands.]

[I see.]

Greta looked at Elias, and Natasha muttered, "Why are you two staring at each other like that?"

He looked at Greta and asked, "Is it good now?"

"I am not done yet," she said as she continued sewing the gown.

Seeing her, a thought came to Elias’s mind, and he asked, "Can you teach Natasha how to sew?"

Greta stopped and frowned. "What?"

"Well, she has nothing to do here but just sit, so I think it will be better if she can pass the time that way."

Greta glanced at Natasha and shrugged. "Why would I waste so much of my time doing that?"

"Right..." He frowned, and a thoughtful look appeared on his face.

"What about this..." he mumbled.

"About what?" She furrowed her brows.

"I will allow you to fight me, and if you win, I will hand over Lastbane to you."

Her eyes sharpened, and she spat, "Do you think that sword is something you can gamble on? You are indeed unworthy of it."

He smirked.

"Well, if you believe that, then teaching my wife how to sew is the only way for you to earn an opportunity to take it away from my unworthy hands."

"I am not playing this game of yours," she said.

"Ah. You are scared to lose to me, are you not?"

Greta didn’t say anything.

"Heh. I will not use my sword skills and a few magic spells, nothing else."

A smile appeared on his face, and he asked, "What about now?"

Greta stared at his face for a long while. Then she returned to sewing the tear in the gown and said, "You would better ready yourself to lose that sword."