She couldn’t keep acting unconscious for several days.
Besides, she had another reason for revealing herself.
If such a small amount of mana was enough to awaken his senses...
Then he might possess exceptional talent.
Maybe I can recruit him.
With that thought in mind, Vanessa got out of bed.
Although she was still weak, she could walk normally.
She quietly opened the guest room door and stepped into the hallway.
The mansion was large and surprisingly quiet.
Following the sound of keyboard clicks, she walked downstairs.
Soon, she found Ben sitting in the living room.
A laptop rested on the coffee table in front of him.
He was typing rapidly, barely noticing anything around him.
Curious, Vanessa glanced at the screen.
Words filled the document as Ben continued writing.
He paused every now and then, thought for a moment, and then continued typing.
Without looking up, he spoke.
"So..."
"You finally decided to stop pretending."
Vanessa stopped in her tracks.
"You knew?"
Ben smiled and closed the laptop.
"I figured it out when I carried you from the car."
"I saw your finger move."
"I just didn’t say anything."
Vanessa looked at him for a moment before letting out a small sigh.
"So that’s why you kept talking to an ’unconscious’ person."
Ben shrugged.
"It would have been awkward to call you out."
"Besides, everyone has their reasons."
Vanessa nodded slightly.
For the first time since meeting him, she looked at him properly instead of secretly observing him.
"Thank you."
Ben blinked.
"For what?"
"For saving my life."
He scratched the back of his head.
"You’re welcome."
"Although I mostly did it because my... reward depended on it."
He almost said "system" but stopped himself just in time.
Vanessa tilted her head.
"Reward?"
Ben immediately smiled awkwardly.
"I mean... it felt like the right thing to do."
Vanessa narrowed her eyes.
She wasn’t convinced.
She felt like he meant something else by "reward," but decided not to ask about it.
"My name is Vanessa Heart. Thank you for saving me," she said.
Ben smiled.
"Ben Parker. Nice to meet you."
He extended his hand for a handshake.
Vanessa looked at it for a moment before reaching out and shaking his hand.
"So, are you a writer or something?" she asked, glancing at the words displayed on his laptop screen.
Ben nodded.
"Yeah, I am."
"You might have heard of me. I write under the pen name Parker Fantasy. I’m fairly well known."
Vanessa’s eyes widened slightly.
"So it’s you."
She looked at him in surprise.
"All this time, I thought Parker Fantasy was some old veteran who had personally experienced everything he wrote about."
Ben chuckled.
"I’ll take that as a compliment."
"You really have an amazing imagination," Vanessa said.
Ben simply smiled.
After a brief silence, he leaned forward.
"So..."
"Are you ready to explain how you fell from the sky?"
"And what was that three-headed dog?"
"Also, why couldn’t anyone else see you while I could?"
Vanessa nodded.
"I was planning to tell you."
"Since you can already perceive us, I won’t be breaking any laws by explaining."
She paused for a moment before beginning.
"First of all, the world isn’t as ordinary as it seems."
"When humans first landed on the Moon, they discovered something that completely changed history."
"They found traces of a mysterious energy that couldn’t be explained by science."
"That energy is what we now call Celestial Energy or what you might think as Mana."
"At first, governments kept the discovery secret."
"But after years of research, they learned how to absorb and control it."
"The Moon eventually became humanity’s first hidden base for studying Celestial Energy, far away from ordinary people."
"As our understanding grew, we developed techniques known as Celestial Arts or magic spells in your language."
"Unfortunately, using Celestial Energy also attracted unwanted attention."
"It acted like a beacon."
"Creatures from beyond our world sensed it and began invading."
"To fight them, humanity created powerful warriors capable of wielding Celestial Arts."
"They protected Earth and pushed the invaders back."
She continued calmly.
"Over the years, humanity expanded beyond Earth."
"Hidden civilizations now exist not only on Earth but also on Mars, Venus, and Jupiter."
"Most powerful families and organizations live on those worlds rather than on Earth."
Ben stared at her.
"So..."
"Everything from fantasy novels is actually real?"
"There’s an entire hidden civilization of Magic families?"
Vanessa shook her head.
"Not exactly."
"We don’t call ourselves mages."
"We are known as Void Walkers."
"I only used the words ’magic’ and ’mage’ because they would be easier for you to understand."
"The energy we cultivate is called Celestial Energy, and those who wield it are known as Void Walkers."
Ben slowly nodded.
"So why can’t ordinary people see you?"
" Yet I can see you?"
Vanessa answered without hesitation.
"Void Walkers can partially exist within the Void Dimension."
"We are present in your world, but at the same time, we are slightly separated from it."
"Because of that, ordinary humans can’t perceive us."
"Only someone who possesses Celestial Energy, or whose senses have temporarily awakened, can see us."
She looked directly into Ben’s eyes.
"As for why you can see me..."
"There are only two possibilities."
"The first is that the Death Flame Cerberus released enough Celestial Energy during the battle to temporarily awaken your senses."
"The second..."
She narrowed her eyes.
"Someone gave you an Tester Potion or something similar before today."
Ben’s expression remained calm, but his mind immediately flashed back to the cup of coffee Maya had served him that morning.
Could it really have been the coffee?
[ A/N: Earlier, I used the terms mana and magic to make the concepts easier to understand. From this point onward, the story will consistently use Celestial Energy, Celestial Arts, and Void Walkers as the proper terms used within the world.]
"What is this Tester Potion?" Ben asked.
By now, he was almost certain it had something to do with the coffee he had drunk that morning.
Vanessa nodded.