502 A new way to gain mana exponentially

When Vincent entered the bedroom, a gust of heat with the pleasant scent of relaxing herbs welcomed him first.

The bedroom had one or two plants burning, and the middle-aged maid splashed water on them. The maid was doing the job of a firefighter, and it didn’t look like this was her first time.

In the middle of the bedroom was a bed drenched in water. On it was a young lady, and steam raised in the air from her water-drenched body. The heat source emanated from her shining red hands resting on the wet bed.

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[Name] Tiffi Ponalis

[Race] Half-elf

[Age] 18

[Condition] Heavily Injured, Exhausted, Medium Mana Fatigue, Fever, Medium Internal Burn Damage, Unconscious, Mana Trance, Relaxed (1min), High Stress

[Traits] None

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[Class] Sigil Mage

[Stats] Strength 6 || Agility 5 || Perception 8 || Mana 830

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[Class Sigil Mage]

*Flame Sigil

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Vincent and Kazumi couldn’t believe they would see a second case like Ester while going to the auction.

However, this time it was different. Vincent didn’t have any items that could boost mana. He only had mana regen potions and feeding them to Tiffi was going to be difficult for the little help they could provide.

[Vincent... This is going to be challenging.]

[I know I became stronger than the first time we tried this stunt on Ester, but I am afraid I will not be able to help her control all this raging mana.]

[It took a long time for Ester to take control of all the collected mana in her soul. But Tiffi over there has more than ten times Ester’s mana at that time.]

-What if I absorbed the mana to the point of...-

[It could work.] Kazumi interrupted. [But remember that you are absorbing her mana, and she doesn’t know how to stop channeling mana in her sigils.]

[We might kill Tiffi from Mana Fatigue if we are not quick enough.]

-I trust you, Kazumi. You will be able to succeed.-

[Thank you.]

Vincent approached Tiffi, but fortunately, the heat didn’t affect him like the others. He looked at Tiffi and noticed how her cheeks were red and her face pale. On her hands was a hot red sigil, which was about to cause the wet bedsheet to burn.

Vincent remembered the days he would wake up from a nightmare where Ester would be dead in his arms. Saving Tiffi was the same as saving Ester all over again. If he failed today, the nightmares might return.

“Aceon. You have to choose from two options. First is to hope your daughter will be able to stop using her spell with my help. The second is to force her into a deep sleep again.” Vincent urgently explained. He didn’t want to reveal Kazumi’s presence to someone he had known for a few hours.

Aceon fell to his knees, shocking his maid and butler. “My daughter’s condition never returned to this state this quickly before. We thought we had a few more days, and what I ordered would be completed tomorrow. Now I can only depend on you.”

*Thud* “I beg you. Please save my daughter.” Aceon begged with his head touching the floor. Not even his maid and butler would have ever thought the noble they serve would beg without any regard for his reputation.

-Kazumi. Let’s do this.- “Overheat.”

Vincent changed in appearance, and the heat didn’t affect him anymore. He held Tiffi’s hand and said in a rough intimidating voice, “Be strong and overcome this hurdle.”

Sofy was standing near the door when she saw Vincent give his all. She looked around for ways to help and saw a bucket with water. She moved her gaze at the maid and the butler while considering splashing water inefficiently.

Sofy thought of a better and took out her two small whips. She placed the bucket on her back and swung one of her whips on her body. The bucket of water became attached tightly to her back when the whip wrapped around her body, and the two ends were tied.

Sofy raised her hand and dipped the whip in the water. She noticed a plant catching on fire nearby.

Sofy swung her whip and forced it to stop a few inches away from the plant. The momentum and force caused the wind and droplets of water to extinguish the fire immediately.

Vincent, Kazumi, Aceon, the maid, and the butler couldn’t believe how Sofy was extinguishing the fire accurately without leaving any damage. Sofy surprised them even further when she swirled her whip and made it rain for a second or two.

“Vincent. Leave the room to me. ” Sofy said with a determined voice. Her whip control and water splashes were the best support Vincent could have, as opening the windows would make the situation worse.

Vincent had both Kazumi and Sofy helping him. Now he could focus on using Overflow to absorb Tiffi’s mana without any additional concern. To his surprise, a notification window appeared a few seconds later.

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[Notice]

historical

[Mana absorbed has been refined. The Host has assimilated +1 mana.]

[Mana absorbed has been refined. The Host has assimilated +1 mana.]

[Mana absorbed has been refined. The Host has assimilated +1 mana.]

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Vincent and Kazumi couldn’t believe how Overflow was absorbing, refining, and assimilating into Vincent’s body at an astounding rate.

However, they didn’t know one crucial factor. The mana was infused with the fire element that was collected in a few days. It was highly compatible with Vincent’s fire affinity, and it was so pure that it could be refined quicker than a Fire Ball.

Vincent was starting to feel different as the notification window kept showing new entries of mana increase. He could faintly sense the presence of mana in the room better, and he could understand why Kazumi called it chaotic.

The mana was moving without direction as if it was rampaging. Vincent could faintly feel two mana types conflicting with one another. One was mana infused with heat, while the other was the world’s mana. As if they were fighting a power struggle instead of living in harmony like what Ester managed to achieve.

“Ahh...” Tiffi grunted in pain because her mana was being absorbed. The more the raging mana in her body decreased, the more her body strained itself to release new mana into the sigil to remain active.

[I estimate we are about halfway. Please leave it to me while you keep decreasing her mana. The less mana she has, the more chance she will have to control her mana and stop the spell.]

-I believe in you, Kazumi. Leave the outside world to me.- Vincent reassuringly said telepathically.

Kazumi left Vincent’s body and used Soul Visit on Tiffi.

*Tiffi Soul Domain*

[Ahh, so bright! Damn red flares all over the place. I think my soul would have burnt alive if I entered before Vincent drained a lot of Tiffi’s mana.]

Kazumi traversed almost blindly in the bright red Soul Domain. She floated in circles until she finally heard the sound of someone crying.

[Tiffi. Please wait for me... I will come to you soon...]

Kazumi was trying her best not to lose to the forceful currents. The closer she reached Tiffi, the more mana she had to expend not to get swept away by the currents.

[Damn! It is worse than Ester’s storm made of mana. But I have to link my mana to Tiffi’s before I consume almost all my mana and get swept away.]

Kazumi remained where she was and concentrated on Tiffi’s mana. However, it was much more challenging to achieve.

Ester had a pre-existing soul-link connection with Vincent’s soul. Unlike the previous time, Kazumi needs to create a new link instead of connecting to a pre-existing one.

It took a while, but Kazumi barely connected with Tiffi’s mana. With the first challenge out of the way, Kazumi slowly approached the crying Tiffi.

Kazumi finally arrived in front of Tiffi. [Did something happen, Tiffi?] She asked.

Tiffi raised her head and saw a green orb floating in front of her. She became frightened and fell on her bottom.

“Stay away from me, evil spirit!” She said while waving her arms.

[Rude much. I came here to save your life while you are here crying until the mana consumes you.]

[Do you know that your father dropped to his knees, slammed his head to the floor, and begged for my partner and me to save your life?]

Tiffi looked at Kazumi in shock. “How did you enter this prison, and what did you and your partner do to my father?” She asked after recuperating from the shock when her father was mentioned.

[Sigh... listen here, Tiffi. How long have you been trapped here?]

“I... I do not know...”

[Do you know how your father is doing right now while you are crying?]

Tiffi wiped her tears and shook her head. Shortly, a small collection of images appeared in front of her eyes. She couldn’t believe the state her father was in because of her.

Tiffi covered her eyes and started crying again. She started speaking with a muffled voice and said random things about self-blame.

Tiffi mentioned how her mother had died because of her. She continued on that if she weren’t born, her mother would still be alive, and her father would still have a wife.

Tiffi’s continued with how her father had to suffer many mocking comments because Tiffi was a late bloomer and she awakened at eighteen years old.

[I understand your problems, Tiffi, but you need to listen to me if you want to live.]

“It is better if I die like this, evil spirit. At least my father will no longer have a jinx of a daughter like me.”