Chapter 280: Alternative: Nether Cores

"Something more personal, you say?" Caelestra repeated, her gaze sharpening as she scrutinized Regaleon.

The silver-haired Knight shifted uncomfortably beneath her scrutiny. He had faced a horde of Ratchyrs without flinching, yet somehow found himself struggling beneath the weight of a Merchant’s curiosity.

There was just something particularly unnerving about being examined by someone who could probably calculate the financial value of his Armour, Halberd, and remaining dignity in less time than it took him to blink.

Eventually, Caelestra shrugged, and her expression softened with a mixture of regret and resignation.

"I’m sorry, Regaleon, but we’re already out of Aether Cores. The last batch we had was the one I distributed so everyone could recover."

For a moment, Regaleon felt as though an invisible hammer had struck him squarely between the eyes.

He stared at her, struggling to reconcile her words with the hope he had carried over. Surely, there had to be a few Cores remaining somewhere in that Treasure Chest of hers. Perhaps she had overlooked a small reserve, or perhaps some had become buried beneath her other possessions.

However, when he noticed the genuine apology in her expression, his optimism began to crumble.

Caelestra had little reason to lie to him. If she wanted to refuse his request, she could have simply done so without inventing an elaborate excuse. It was not as though he intended to threaten her into surrendering her possessions. He might have been a Knight, but even he understood that demanding resources by force was a particularly poor way to maintain friendships.

"Are you absolutely certain they’re all gone?" he asked.

Despite himself, he needed confirmation.

After all, this concerned something rather important to him. It was not quite a matter of life and death, although the disappointment threatening to settle over him felt sufficiently dramatic to deserve such a description.

Caelestra sighed and shook her head with weary certainty.

"Yes. They’re finished. And if you think I’m lying, you’re welcome to inspect my Treasure Chest yourself."

She pushed the chest towards him, offering it with such straightforward confidence that Regaleon immediately raised both hands.

"There’s no need for that. I believe you."

He waved away the offer before she could mistake his hesitation for an accusation.

"It’s just surprising that we’ve managed to use every last Aether Core already. I knew we would need them, but I didn’t expect our reserves to disappear so quickly."

"Neither did I," Caelestra admitted, drawing the chest back towards herself.

She could hardly blame him for being astonished. Had she not witnessed the depletion with her own eyes, she might have suspected that someone had secretly stolen a portion of their supplies.

After the previous day’s massacre of the wolf pack, their collection of Aether Cores had been substantial enough to sustain them for quite some time.

With sensible rationing, the available supply could have lasted well beyond a week, allowing the group to replenish their reserves without constantly risking their lives in pursuit of fresh resources.

Yet one battle had changed everything.

The Cores that had once seemed plentiful had vanished into the cultivation of eight exhausted practitioners, leaving behind nothing but drained crystals and the uncomfortable realization that their resources were finite.

The Nether Lands had an unpleasant talent for making abundance feel temporary.

Regaleon lowered his gaze, and the disappointment in his golden eyes became difficult to conceal. He had approached Caelestra hoping to find a solution, only to discover that the very resource he needed had been exhausted.

For a brief moment, he wondered whether he should simply abandon the attempt and wait until they encountered another source of Aether Cores. It was the sensible decision, certainly, although that did little to make it appealing.

Caelestra noticed the change in his expression. Her brows furrowed as she studied him, apparently unconvinced that the matter ended with an ordinary request for replenishment.

"But really, what do you need the Aether Cores for?"

Regaleon released an exhausted sigh before answering truthfully.

"I wanted to increase the Tier of my Halberd."

Caelestra’s delicate eyebrow rose.

"My Halberd," he clarified, "is already on the precipice of ascending to a new Tier. I discovered it after the battle. Unfortunately, the Aether Cores I consumed weren’t enough to push it over the threshold, which is why I came to ask whether you had any more."

Understanding finally dawned across the silver-haired Merchant’s face.

So that was the reason for his unusual anxiety.

Caelestra had grown accustomed to Regaleon’s composed demeanour, even when circumstances demanded difficult decisions.

He rarely allowed frustration to interfere with his judgment, and his manner usually carried the quiet assurance of someone accustomed to shouldering responsibilities without complaint.

Seeing him hesitate over a request for cultivation resources was therefore rather unexpected. Apparently, the advancement of his Soul Essence was important enough to unsettle even the Forgotten Knight.

"I see," she murmured.

Her gaze briefly shifted towards his damaged halberd before returning to his face. Although she understood his disappointment, she could not manufacture Aether Cores simply because he needed them. Commerce had its limitations, unfortunate as that was for anyone hoping to purchase their way out of an inconvenient situation.

"I’m sorry I can’t help you any further, Regaleon."

The apology carried genuine regret.

Regaleon immediately waved his hand.

"It’s not your fault, Caelestra. Besides, it isn’t as though the ascension is something I desperately need at this very moment. I can wait until we find more Aether Cores."

He delivered the reassurance with a calmness that almost succeeded in disguising his disappointment... Almost.

Caelestra had spent enough time observing people to recognize the difference between someone who had accepted an unfortunate circumstance and someone who was merely trying to behave as though he had. Regaleon’s posture remained composed, but the slight tension in his shoulders and the reluctance with which he abandoned the subject betrayed his lingering frustration.

She considered him for several seconds before an idea occurred to her.

"Hey, Regaleon. You once mentioned that your Soul Essences devour Cores or something similar to advance, didn’t you?"

Her sudden question caught him off guard.

He blinked before nodding cautiously.

"Well, I suppose you could put it that way. Why?"

Caelestra leaned slightly towards him, her silver eyes brightening with the unmistakable glimmer of a merchant who had discovered a potentially profitable opportunity.

"Well, if your Soul Essences devour Aether Cores to advance, then perhaps they could devour Nether Cores as well. Don’t you think?"

Regaleon fell silent.

The suggestion was not unreasonable. Viewed from a purely practical perspective, Nether Cores were concentrated reservoirs of energy, and his Soul Essences had already demonstrated an appetite that exceeded his expectations.

If they could consume the energy within those dark crystals, he might possess an alternative means of achieving the advancement he desired.

Unfortunately, the possibility of success was not the same as a guarantee of safety.

In fact, Caelestra’s suggestion had already crossed his mind. He had considered the Nether Cores gathered from the fallen Ratchyrs, wondering whether their concentrated energy might serve as a substitute for the Aether Cores he had exhausted.

But he had refrained from experimenting for one important reason.

Aelric had warned them against absorbing the energy within Nether Cores, emphasizing that doing so could prove fatal to an Etheryean. The warning had been sufficiently severe that Regaleon saw little reason to disregard it merely because his Soul Essences possessed unusual appetites.

After all, there was a considerable difference between testing an unconventional cultivation method and gambling with one’s life on the assumption that one’s Soul Essences would know better.

"I thought Aelric said Nether Cores couldn’t be used by Etheryeans," Regaleon replied. "The way he warned us suggests that their energy is fundamentally incompatible with us. If absorbing it can be fatal, experimenting without understanding the consequences seems rather reckless."

Caelestra regarded him for a moment. Then her lips curled into a mischievous smile.

"Oh, Regaleon. Why are you so scared?"

The question struck him more sharply than he expected.

He stared at her, momentarily uncertain whether she was teasing him or genuinely questioning his courage.

Scared? The word seemed almost absurd when applied to him.

Regaleon had endured circumstances that would have broken the composure of many practitioners. He had faced powerful enemies, survived brutal encounters, and carried responsibilities that seldom allowed him the luxury of hesitation. Fear was not something he had never experienced, but neither was it an emotion he permitted to dictate his decisions.

More importantly, caution and cowardice were not interchangeable, no matter how conveniently some people pretended otherwise.

He had no intention of risking his life merely to satisfy his Soul Essences’ appetite.

Nevertheless, Caelestra’s remark had found its mark. Beneath his outward composure, his pride stirred at the suggestion that he might be frightened of a few dark crystals.

His golden eyes narrowed slightly. For the first time since their conversation began, Regaleon felt a distinct urge to prove something.

And Caelestra, judging by the mischievous glint in her eyes, seemed perfectly aware of it...