Chapter 119: Arcane Burst

Then Gray woke.

Cindy’s voice was faint at first, like a whisper filtering through deep water. It tugged at the edges of his consciousness, pulling him back from the white void.

"Gray... Gray! Wake up! Please wake up!"

His awareness returned in fragments. First came the weight of his own body. Then came the sensation of mana still humming through his core, hot and bright and impossibly vast.

He opened his senses.

The first thing he noticed was the barrier.

A silver-blue dome shimmered around him, its surface pulsing with steady light. She’d wrapped him in a barrier while he was unconscious, protecting him from the wild mana that still churned around the spring.

The second thing he noticed was that they were no longer floating above the seafloor.

They were below it.

The barrier had sunk, or been dragged, or fallen Gray couldn’t tell. All he knew was that the twisted black spires and the crack in the seafloor were far above them now, their silhouettes barely visible through layers of dense, mana-saturated water.

And the Xytheris was gone.

Its massive body, its dozens of eyes, its crystalline hide, all of it had vanished. Except for the mana burning inside Gray’s core.

Cindy’s voice came again, clearer now, trembling with relief.

"Gray! You’re awake! Oh thank the gods, I thought— I thought you were—"

’I’m here,’ he said.

Her small axolotl body drifted into view, her frills quivering with exhaustion. She looked smaller than before, her glow dimmer, her silver eyes heavy with worry. The barrier around them flickered as she struggled to maintain it.

"You were unconscious for so long," she said. "I didn’t know what to do. The mana spring was going wild, and that creature was draining you, and then it just... disappeared. Its body dissolved. And you were still floating there, but you weren’t moving, and your mana was—"

She stopped, her voice catching.

’Cindy,’ Gray said gently. ’I’m fine. Actually... I’m better than fine.’

She stared at him, her frills stilling.

"...What do you mean?"

Gray pulled up his status. The golden text materialized in his vision, and the numbers made even him pause.

STATUS MENU

Name: Gray Ashford

Species: Aurelia abyssalis — Tidal Reaper (Hydrodynamic Abyssal Aurelia Variant)

Level: 37

Title: Colony Killer, Exterminator, Cold-Blooded Killer, Mana Devourer

Stats:

· HP: 1040 / 1040

· MP: 1200 / 1200

· ATK: 133

· DEF: 103

· SPD: 248

· INT: 128

· LUK: 40

’I absorbed it,’ Gray said. ’The Xytheris. It tried to consume my mind, and I consumed it instead.’

Cindy’s silver eyes went wide. Her frills splayed in shock.

"You... you absorbed a creature made of pure mana? That’s impossible! Even a Tier 8 mage couldn’t—"

’I know,’ Gray said. ’But I did.’

Then Gray’s senses swept the area around them. The twisted black spires still loomed far above, the crack in the seafloor still pulsed with wild, iridescent light, and the water around it churned with unsettled energy.

He turned his attention to the mana spring, then back to Cindy.

’Speaking of which,’ he said, ’the mana spring still isn’t calm. Were you slacking off while I was unconscious?’

Cindy’s frills snapped rigid. Her silver eyes flared with indignation.

"What did you just say?!"

She swam up and punched him or tried to. Her tiny, webbed hand barely tapped against his crystalline armor, more of a soft thump than an actual blow.

"I was calming it!" she snapped. "I had it under control! But then you suddenly went unconscious, and I had to choose between maintaining the mana flow and keeping you alive—"

’Okay, okay,’ Gray said, his mental voice carrying a faint trace of amusement. ’It was a joke. Stop hitting me.’

But Cindy kept punching him, her tiny fists drumming against his armor with all the fury her small body could muster. It was, objectively, adorable.

"Don’t joke about that! Do you have any idea how scared I was?!"

’Cindy—’

"You were floating there, not moving, not responding, and your mana was being drained, and I couldn’t do anything except watch and pray you’d wake up!"

’Cindy.’

She stopped mid-punch, her frills trembling.

Her voice dropped to a whisper.

"...Please don’t make me worry like that again."

The playfulness drained out of Gray’s thoughts. He drifted closer, his tentacles hovering near her small form.

’I know,’ he said quietly. ’I’m sorry. I’ll try to be more careful.’

Cindy looked up at him, her silver eyes still bright with lingering fear. Then she huffed, turned away, and crossed her tiny arms.

"Okay, but you better keep that promise."

’I will. Now, can you calm this spring down? I want to go home.’

Cindy let out a long, dramatic sigh.

"As you wish."

She turned toward the mana spring, her frills splaying wide as she reached into the currents. Silver light pulsed from her body, threading through the wild, churning mana like fingers combing through tangled hair. Slowly, the iridescent light began to soften. The water stopped churning. The crack in the seafloor dimmed, its glow fading from blinding to a gentle, steady pulse.

While Cindy worked, Gray pulled up his status screen. Two new notifications glowed in the corner of his vision, waiting for him to examine them properly.

[TITLE: MANA DEVOURER]

« Analysis »

A title granted to those who have consumed a being of pure mana. The Mana Devourer is a predator of magic itself, a creature that feeds on the very essence that sustains mages and monsters alike.

Title Effect:

· +15% damage against mana-based creatures and constructs.

· Absorb 10% of all mana-based damage taken, converting it into MP.

· Passive: Increased mana regeneration while in high-mana environments.

Gray stared at the title for a long moment.

’A predator of magic itself...’

He moved to the next notification.

[TRAIT: MANA CONFLUENCE — INTEGRATED]

« Analysis »

A unique trait born from the direct absorption of a pure mana entity. The user’s body has been permanently altered, their mana channels now flow with the same crystalline clarity as the creature they consumed.

Trait Effect:

· +50 INT (already applied).

· MP pool expanded by +350 (already applied).

· Passive: 15% increased efficiency of all mana-based skills.

· Passive: Mana regeneration doubled in high-mana environments.

· Passive: User can now sense mana currents with the same clarity as a trained mage.

· New Skill Acquired: [Arcane Burst] — Release a wave of pure mana that disrupts enemy spellcasting and destabilizes magical constructs. MP Cost: 40. Cooldown: 30 seconds.

A skill that disrupts magic. It was something he’d never had before, a direct counter to magical enemies and constructs. And with his mana pool now at 1200, he could afford to use it liberally.

’I can sense mana currents now,’ he said, half to himself.

Cindy glanced back at him, her small hands still weaving through the mana spring’s currents.

"You can? That’s... that’s supposed to be a mage’s ability. Even most mages take years to develop that sense."

’Then I guess I’m a mage now,’ Gray said. ’Or something like one.’