After escorting Evelyn and Elysia around the city, Elias headed back to his room to rest.
Elysia didn’t want Elias running himself ragged before the last night of the party, so she told him to just go back to sleep instead of tagging along with them.
Not like they were doing much besides chatting with the other Ladies anyway.
Elias lay down on his bed, book in hand, Three Easy Ways to Discover Your Arcana for Beginners, No Password.
Actually, before he’d sprinted his way down that hill, Elias had briefly sensed another monster watching him from somewhere in the dark.
At first he assumed it was a person, since it was pretty rare for a monster to have the kind of intelligence needed to stalk its prey beforehand, unless it was a high-rank monster.
Still, just to be safe, after collecting a few fangs and pelts from the wolves, he’d smeared poison over the Iron Wolf Fang corpses, since whatever had been watching refused to come out even after the fight ended.
He never expected that thing lurking in the shadows had actually been the Devil Ape, the very monster tied to his other quest.
Since the side quest had no time limit attached, he figured he could take it easy and wrap it up later, or even tomorrow.
“Well, that actually works out better. Means I don’t have to put in extra effort.”
The book in Elias’s hands was surprisingly solid.
It laid out the basics of Arcana and broke down every type in detail.
There were four common types of Arcana, fire, water, earth, and wind.
Then two types categorized as special, light and darkness.
All of that matched exactly what Seraphina had told him.
But there were also a few rarer types listed, categorized as legendary, Time, Space, and Gravity.
“Sounds pretty powerful just from the names, but honestly, these count as common Arcana too, in a way. Time Arcana shows up in regeneration magic, or the healing spells the light church people use. Space Arcana’s basically the same idea, more like a storage pouch or Lady Seraphina’s storage ring. And gravity… does someone with an Affinity for this just get to manipulate gravity however they want?”
Feeling defeated since he couldn’t land on a proper answer, Elias shut the book and tossed it onto the floor.
“Affinity… Ah, right! Affinity! Why didn’t I think of that sooner. Based on what Seraphina told me and what’s in the book, everyone can use pretty much any type of Arcana, but it still requires Affinity.”
Like Seraphina, who had a strong Affinity for Wind and Earth, Elias figured he should have some kind of Affinity for at least one type of Arcana too, even if it wasn’t nearly as strong as hers.
But so far, he’d only ever used his mana to reinforce his sword and legs.
Beyond that, he’d relied entirely on Magic Talismans and potions for offense and defense alike.
Just as he sat there scratching his head, thoroughly confused, a system screen suddenly popped up in front of him.
[Just imagine it.]
Reading that, Elias tilted his head, raising an eyebrow.
“What do you mean?”
[Just imagine how you’d use Arcana in your own way. If you genuinely can’t do it, then give up.]
“You think this is some anime where I just picture a Fireball and boom, it’s real?”
[Pick between imagining it or giving up. How hard is that.]
“You…”
Annoyed at his system’s sudden stubbornness, Elias reluctantly went ahead and did what it suggested anyway.
“I’ll prove it! I’ll imagine this so-called special Arcana, and I’ll prove that just picturing something never actually works!”
Elias extended his right hand off to the side.
*CRACK!
Like a pane of glass fracturing and shattering, the space beside his hand suddenly warped.
A hole the size of Elias’s own head tore open in the air, ringed by jagged, irregular cracks, like the space itself had just been violently torn apart.
Elias could only stand there frozen, staring at the hole hovering in front of him.
He himself had no idea how the thing had even appeared just from him picturing it.
“What the heck…”
Elias then tried picturing the hole sealing itself shut.
*CRACK!
The cracks around the hole knit back together, and the space that had been torn open returned to normal.
Since the whole thing was starting to feel genuinely bizarre, Elias tried opening it again, this time picturing a different shape, a long slit running sideways.
*CRACK!
The space split open again, forming exactly the shape he’d pictured.
“Seriously?”
Elias kept experimenting, closing it and reopening it in different shapes.
A circle, a square, even something completely irregular.
Every single time he pictured a shape, the space obediently tore open to match whatever was in his head.
Elias stared down at his own hand before glancing toward the system with a mix of confusion and shock plastered on his face.
“Did you already know about this?”
[Who knows. Figure it out yourself.] This story is hosted at g.com.
“This is insane… I have no idea how I’m able to use Space Arcana just by picturing it, especially since it’s supposedly a special-tier Arcana, and I don’t even feel like I have any Affinity for Space Arcana whatsoever.”
Elias looked back at the hole still hanging open in front of him.
He didn’t feel anything different from when he used Mana to strengthen his body.
The only difference this time was that the Mana seemed to just follow whatever image was in his head.
“So that’s how it is… That’s it! I got so hung up on Arcana Affinity that I convinced myself I couldn’t use Arcana at all just because I didn’t have one.”
[Correct. What the book and Seraphina both said is that everyone can use Arcana, Affinity’s just a measure of how easily a person can use it.]
Elias raised his hand again, aiming it in a different direction, channeling mana as he tried to open another space, but nothing happened.
Then he aimed his hand at the hole already open in front of him and pushed mana into it, picturing the hole growing bigger.
But it only expanded slightly.
“I get it now, Arcana’s just a way of giving mana a specific character. That doesn’t mean I can’t use it. As long as I’ve got mana, I can use Arcana, it’s just going to be a lot harder since I don’t have an Affinity for it.”
But as Elias kept pushing mana into the hole, trying to enlarge it, his breathing grew heavy within seconds, sweat pouring off him.
“Hah…?”
The mana draining out of his body was vanishing way faster than it ever did when he used it to reinforce his body, and before long, the hole snapped shut on its own.
Watching the hole close, Elias just stared down at his own palm, baffled.
“Just that much, and it already drained me this hard?”
Elias wiped the sweat off his forehead, deep in thought.
“If Affinity determines how easily someone can use Arcana, then maybe the more I use it, the higher my Affinity climbs over time.”
Elias recalled something else the book had mentioned.
“In that case… maybe Affinity can grow the more you actually use it.”
Elias let out a breath, staring down at his own hand.
“Screw it, I need to build up my Mana reserves first.”
He’d only used Space Arcana for a short stretch, and already his whole body felt utterly drained.
Elias finally let himself collapse onto the bed.
Even though the mana cost was massive, he had a feeling this ability would turn out incredibly useful once he actually got the hang of it properly.
“If I keep training, maybe eventually I can make it bigger without burning through all my Mana.”
Elias pulled the blanket up over himself.
“But for now…”
He closed his eyes.
“…sleep first.”
* * *
Elias woke up to find it was already late afternoon.
He’d only managed five hours of sleep, but that still beat getting none at all.
He hurried up and staggered his way to the bath.
After washing up, he got dressed and headed straight to the two girls’ room to help them get ready again.
“Did you sleep well?”
“Honestly, I still feel a bit sleep-deprived, my Lady.”
“Fufu~… Don’t worry, Elias. You can sleep as much as you want once tonight’s over.”
“I’m counting on it.”
Elias gestured to the side to let Evelyn and Elysia walk ahead before falling into step behind them, heading toward the ballroom.
As usual, Elias took his place along the wall while Evelyn and Elysia joined the cluster of Ladies.
He didn’t eat much, since Elysia had specifically told him not to overdo it and end up exhausted again.
Honestly, Elias really wanted to laugh at how earnest she sounded, but he stuck to her instructions anyway.
So he just stood there, holding his drink, sipping some wine.
Suddenly, a voice rang out from the direction of the entrance.
“His Highness, the Second Prince, Prince Edwin Harrow, has entered the hall!”
At the announcement, several people immediately moved toward the entrance, while others stayed put and simply bowed their heads.
“Greetings, Prince Edwin.”
“Greetings, Your Highness.”
Hearing the announcement, Elias set his glass down right away and walked toward Evelyn and Elysia, sticking to his plan to make it obvious he belonged to House Nocturne. This chapter was taken from NovelPing without permission.
Seraphina was the first to greet Edwin, stepping forward with a warm, welcoming smile.
“Welcome, Your Highness. I’m honored you could join us tonight.”
Edwin returned the smile, gentle and easy.
“Lady Seraphina, you don’t need to be this formal with me. I’m just here to enjoy the party like everyone else.”
A few of the Ladies stepped up next to greet Edwin as well.
He responded to each of them warmly and courteously before his gaze finally landed on Evelyn and Elysia.
“Goodness, we meet again, Lady Evelyn, Lady Elysia.”
Evelyn offered a faint smile, bowing her head slightly.
“Greetings, Your Highness.”
Elysia bowed her head as well.
“Greetings, Prince Edwin.”
Edwin’s gaze lingered on the two of them a touch longer than necessary.
Standing behind them, Elias finally stepped in to offer his own greeting.
“Greetings, Your Highness.”
Edwin gave Elias the briefest glance before turning his attention right back to Evelyn and Elysia.
‘…’
Even though Elias felt relieved, for some reason a small flicker of annoyance crept up at being brushed off so completely.
Still, he could handle it, being a commoner Caretaker just came with that territory.
‘At least he’s not interested in me.’
As long as the prince’s attention stayed locked on the two girls, Elias didn’t mind one bit and honestly hoped it’d stay exactly that way.
Suddenly, that same voice rang out from the entrance again.
“The Saintess candidate, Lady Clara of the Church of Lumen, has entered the hall!”
The mood in the room shifted once more.
Some heads turned toward the door immediately, while others simply bowed.
“Greetings, Lady Clara.”
“Greetings, Saintess candidate.”
Seraphina approached Clara with a warm smile, bowing gracefully.
“Welcome, Lady Clara. I’m truly delighted you could attend this celebration.”
“Greetings, Lady Seraphina. Congratulations on your coming of age, and it’s an honor to be here.”
Clara bowed slightly with a soft smile aimed at Seraphina.
She then clasped both hands together in front of her chest, a small cross resting between her palms.
“May your coming of age guide you toward becoming a kind and wise Lady for everyone around you.”
A few young nobles stepped forward to greet Clara too before she made her way toward the second prince, who was still standing with Evelyn and Elysia, to offer her own greeting.
Noticing Clara heading his way, Elias immediately tried ducking behind Elysia, despite his frame being significantly bigger than hers.
‘Please, for the love of god, don’t look at me!’
“What are you doing hiding behind a girl, Son?”
Felix had suddenly appeared right beside him, staring him down.
“Shhh!! Shut up!.”
Felix took a small breath before bowing to greet Clara.
“Greetings, Lady Clara.”
“Oh, greetings, Young Master Felix. Um… who’s that back there?”
“Hey… At least give her a proper greeting!”
“Quiet! I don’t feel like showing my face right now.”
“What’s wrong with you?”
“I… I have a phobia of strangers!”
“Tch… Nonsense! Get out here and greet her already instead of hiding behind your own employer!”
Felix yanked at Elias, dragging him forward to greet Clara.
Elysia, thoroughly annoyed at being used as a human shield, finally stepped aside.
For a brief second, Elias and Clara’s eyes met, but a moment later, all Elias could do was smile weakly, “Tears of Joy” welling up in his eyes.
‘Fuck.’