Chapter 45

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Episode 10 - First Year Representative [2]

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As I emerged from the water, I hurried toward where Lumina was floating. I quickly entered the water once again and soon pulled her out.

Next, I laid her down on what appeared to be a marble table.

Then I used my senses and "saw" the inside of her body.

Her heart was beating; her vital signs were stable, although somewhat chaotic, and her Circulation Channels were flowing with an enormous amount of mana.

’How long has she been submerged in the water?’

I placed both hands over her heart area and, using my Mana Sense, began extracting the mana that was flowing through her Circulation Channels and was on the verge of exploding.

The mana entered through my hand. Doing this would normally cause Mana Backlash in people.

But I could do it without any problem.

’There’s too much mana in her body.’

At this rate, she could die, and Lumina would have to return to the past because of this.

To prevent her from doing something reckless, I had to extract all of her mana and then use my blood to reinforce her Circulation Channels.

Otherwise, even if I extract all of her mana, her Circulation Channels will begin to crack.

Before long, I extracted all of her mana.

’Now, I have to use my blood, but...’

She needs to drink my blood, since this is not an injury to her body, but to her Circulation Channels.

Making a wound on her and letting my blood drip there would not be enough.

’Normally, an injection would have to be used; it would be easier.’

Of course, as long as she drinks my blood, even if she ends up crippled, she can recover.

’Well, there’s no other choice... I’ll have to keep it secret no matter what.’

Taking a dagger out of my inventory, I made a thin cut on my forearm.

Then I brought my forearm to my mouth, letting the blood drip, and soon my mouth was filled with blood.

Without hesitation, I approached Lumina’s face and fed the blood into her mouth.

I made sure to confirm that she swallowed it and, after a few seconds, I used my Mana Sense and confirmed that her Circulation Channels had been restored.

’I never kissed anyone in my previous life, so this would be my first time.’

I could feel the emotion of embarrassment slowly surfacing, but it was not strong enough to overcome my trait.

Then I took out two towels from my inventory; afterward, I spread one out and covered Lumina’s naked body.

Since I could not see, honestly, no lustful thoughts crossed my mind.

I may be mentally an adult, but my body is that of an adolescent.

After that, I put on my towel.

’Phew... that was close.’

She could have been erased by the mana and died.

’So she’s the one who has been secretly watching me, but...’

Then I was able to figure it out.

She probably saw me leave the academy without me noticing, followed me, and ended up here.

Then she sensed the Mana Channels, searched for them, and when she found them, she quietly entered.

But then I arrived, and that alarmed her.

That was probably why she stayed submerged longer than she should have and ended up like this.

’She must have used her Absolute Concealment trait.’

That must be the only reason she managed to escape my senses so easily.

Since she literally disappeared from the world when using that trait, and my senses only work if something exists.

’I should have used True Sight.’

One of True Sight’s passive effects is the ability to see mana, and another is seeing the white lines she always "looked" at.

Anyway, I let out a long sigh and "looked" at Lumina’s face.

And while doing so, I suddenly noticed that she was experiencing emotions.

’She... actually already woke up, so why isn’t she saying anything?’

It was barely noticeable, but it seemed like her lips moved slightly; perhaps she must have tasted my blood.

My blood tastes slightly different from the typical metallic taste.

Mine is almost sweet, with a medicinal touch.

I’m literally a walking elixir... with extra flavor.

There were so many emotions I perceived that I couldn’t interpret them all. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

I sighed and opened my mouth.

"I know you’re awake."

She didn’t respond and kept her eyes closed.

"..."

’Is she a child or what? Her mental age is at least forty thousand years old.’

Ten thousand regressions, and in most of them she only lives for three to four years.

Considering her real age... watching her act like this was quite a spectacle.

And in front of me, something like pretending to be asleep is impossible for me to miss.

’Fine, I’ll play along with your game.’

I pinched her cheek, remembering some funny moments when my assistant used to show me anime.

There was no reaction, but I could clearly feel her expression twitching.

"Mhm."

At that moment, I thought of something, and a smile formed on my face.

"I may not be able to see, but I have imagination, you know? Ah, and I have a camera stored away. Who knows... I wonder what I could do with those photos."

Naturally, I don’t actually have any camera in my Inventory, nor do I intend to do anything like that.

Finally, Lumina’s eyes opened. She stood up and said:

"N-no, wait..."

I crossed my arms and "stared" at her.

Then I asked the most important thing:

"So, were you the one following me this whole time?"

Lumina’s lips tightened, and emotions of panic and embarrassment were clearly reflected on her face.

’Her mental age may be absurd, but somehow she still acts like a child.’

That was so human of her, knowing that she was a regressor.

Lumina’s voice soon reached my ears.

"Well, that is..."

It seemed like she was searching for an excuse, but she was bad at making excuses.

So she stammered and awkwardly said:

"I-it’s just that I saw you, and you looked really suspicious... yeah, that’s it... and, uh, I thought you were going to meet up with villains, yeah..."

"..."

I kept my expression blank, but internally I was rubbing my temples.

’Now then, whose idea was it to create Lumina like this?’

I don’t remember, since I suddenly forgot my entire previous life.

With a sigh, I stopped Lumina and her excuses that were faker than a soap opera performance.

"Well, forget it. You have your reasons, so I understand. Anyway, if I hadn’t been here, you could have died."

I scolded her for her reckless actions over the next few minutes.

Finally, I returned to the water (mana) and, after approximately a minute, came out.

Then I looked at the Mana stat and nodded inwardly.

’It was a huge increase.’

I could also feel my physical capabilities increasing tremendously.

So I looked at the Status Window.

’Status Window.’

A screen appeared in my mind.

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Name: Adel

Age: 18

Status: Player

Mana: ★ ★ ★ ★〖44.17%〗

■| Sword Arts

∆ Mercenary Fencing.

∆ Inverted Heaven (1/6)

■| Traits

∆ True Sight (Mastery/Max)

∆ Senses of the Nine Heavens (Mastery/Max+)

∆ Weakness Detection (Mastery/Max)

∆ Mana Sense (Mastery/Max)

∆ Immunity to Pain (Mastery/Max)

∆ Without emotions (Mastery/Perfection)

∆ Beyond Limits (Mastery/Max)

■| Unique Trait

∆ Eyes of the End

■| Heart’s Strength

∆ Elixir of Recovery

■| Equipped Items

∆ Bandage Beyond Reason (Rank/Mythic)

■| Runes

〖Inventory〗 〖Quests: 1〗〖Fable: 1〗

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A smile formed on my face, and the feeling of joy increased slightly.

’I’m almost halfway through 4 Stars, but reaching 5 Stars...’

I might not even reach 5 Stars after Chapter Three, perhaps only after finishing Chapter Four.

In any case, going from 4 to 5 Stars is very difficult and normally takes anywhere from six months to a year.

’Right now, I’m focused on mastering Inverted Heaven, so it might take me more than six months to reach 5 Stars.’

And who knows, I might not reach 6 Stars until the second year.

With a sigh, I turned toward where Lumina was standing, silently looking at me.

"I’m already heading back to the academy. What about you?"

She responded quickly.

"I’m also returning to the Academy."

I nodded, then picked up my clothes from the floor and left the room to find a place to put them on.

***

’Ahhh!!! W-what the hell have I done?!’

Lumina’s screams inside her mind gave her a headache.

But she ignored them; her emotions were still in complete chaos.

More than anything, she touched her lips and guessed how Adel had given her his blood.

She pressed her lips together and felt her face heating up from embarrassment.

She may have already kissed Adel once, but at that moment she had been extremely nervous and did it under the excuse of apologizing.

But this time, she was not the one who took the first step. It was Adel.

Her breathing became uneven as she tried to control the pounding of her heart.

Adel could hear her, so she tried to stay as quiet as possible.

’C-come on... calm down, it’s not like this is the first time he’s done that.’

In fact, during her previous regression, Lumina had acted recklessly in a dangerous moment and fainted with severe injuries.

So Adel gave her his blood using his mouth.

When she woke up, she could not face Adel for several days because of her embarrassment.

In any case, her face was still as red as a tomato.

"I-I... shouldn’t have done that."

But internally, she was thinking something completely different.

’I-I did the right thing, even if I exposed myself to him.’

The thoughts of this girl, who had never fallen in love with anyone before, surfaced once again.

And she would probably act like an idiot over the next few days.

Meanwhile, Adel had already gotten dressed and was preparing to return to the Academy.

’Part Two of Chapter One is just around the corner.’

Next week, one of the professors would be murdered by one of the infiltrated villains.

A professor who was in charge of explicitly important and delicate investigations.