Magus Reborn

8. Syphon

Kai ignored the guard and focused on purging the corruption from within the mana weaver.

He sent waves of mana into the weaver’s body. Parts of the man’s body had fallen to the corruption and it had taken hold, so it resisted Kai’s mana viscously, not letting him destroy it and even fought against it.

Still, it wasn’t strong enough to stop his mana.

After coming to his era, Kai’s mana had only gotten more pure because of the quality of the mana in the air here.

Beads of sweat gathered on his forehead as he focused. To the guard, it might have looked like nothing, but Kai felt like he was in the middle of a battlefield, fighting the corruption with his mana.

The mana weaver shook a few times during the purification, but it mostly stayed put, his Sleep spell doing its work. If it had woken up, it would have surely attacked him.

The whole thing went smoothly as Kai took deep breaths, consolidated his breathing and kept on working.

After an hour of it, Kai saw the black lines on his neck thinning. A few of them disappeared and even a few of his fingers returned to their normal state.

The black lines on his arms completely went away.

It was a gradual process, but it was a positive response to his purification.

The skin colour of the weaver had gone completely pale and it almost resembled a blood drinker. If Kai was right, it would take a week for the colour to return to normal.

The eyes had turned red alongside the face morphing into rotten flesh. Those would take extra care from him and he didn’t have enough mana for it at the moment.

He touched the weaver’s neck and sent a last rush of mana inside its veins before sighing. Taking a last look at it, he stood up and dusted his hands off.

Kai looked at the guard who still looked a bit shocked at what he had seen.

"I will come here regularly every day to heal it. For now, just keep it fed and don’t do anything. I might just be able to save it," Kai said and paused, taking a moment to think for himself. He took a glimpse at the mana weaver and looked back at the guard. "I would prefer it if you don’t go around using your mouth about me being a Mage."

Kai looked at him in the eyes, giving a ’did you understand what I meant’ look. The guard nodded immediately.

For him, it didn’t matter if people knew if he was a Mage or not, but there would be questions once it got revealed. He preferred to reveal it himself to others rather than them finding out about it from rumours.

Also, he was a bit wary of Actra.

Kai hadn’t seen him yet, but knowing that he might be connected to the ritual and Arzan’s death, he couldn’t help but be cautious of him.

Moreover, being a Mage might just help him get support from Killian and Francis. Both of them had considerable authority around here, but Kai doubted they trusted him. It was more like they endured him and didn’t dare to speak against him due to his family.

If he wanted to rule here, he needed retainers and being a Mage would certainly help with that.

"Lord Arzan, you said that you would come here to heal the mana weaver. Does that mean it could be saved?" The guard’s voice brought him back to the present and he looked at him.

"Yes, I would be able to save it. The corruption hadn’t spread so much that we would have to kill it."

Saying so, Kai turned around to leave, but as he was doing so, his eyes noticed something sitting in front of the walls. A unique-looking stone.

"Is that a Syphon stone?" Kai questioned as he fixed his gaze on it. He briefly recalled Killian mentioning it before.

The Syphon stone was a green, crystallised stone with the ability to draw mana from the surroundings. Kai had seen their fair share of them before.

It was kept far away from the mana weaver and he assumed it was to absorb the mana from the air, so the Weaver couldn’t gather his energy back. It was a great tool for someone to be kept exhausted.

"Yes, it is, My Lord. We are using it to absorb as much mana as possible from the weaver. We haven’t expected such a situation, or we would have already constructed cuffs made from Syphon stone," he said while glancing between the stone and Kai.

Kai kept looking at the stone before slowly walking towards it. Picking it in his hand, the Syphon stone tried to absorb his mana, but it wasn’t able to. Kai’s control on its mana was strong enough unlike the weaver who had transformed recently.

As he kept looking at the crystallised stone, Kai’s mind started to spin. Almost as if leaves caught on fire, an idea ignited in his mind.

Can’t I use these stones to make up a Heat stone? With their natural mana absorption, I only have to inscribe an Ignition seal on them. Though, it’s easier said than done.

Kai thought in his mind and weighed the pros and cons before deciding on running a few tests.

Looking back at the guard, he asked, "What is your name?"

"It’s Feroy, my Lord."

***

Killian looked down at his plate. He cut the bread into pieces. With his fork, he grabbed the meat and put it on top.

It was breakfast and he regarded it as the most important meal of the day. Today was the same and the food made by the cook was the same as every day, just how he liked it.

Still, he sensed a gaze on him and as he raised his head, he matched Francis’s eyes on him.

"Do you have something to say, Francis?" Killian asked, looking at him. His brows furrowed in curiosity.

"Have you noticed Lord Arzan acting unusual lately? I mean-"

Killian nodded, chewing thoughtfully. "Yeah, something’s off. I heard he’s been hoarding those Syphon stones, doing god knows what in his room for the last three days. He only goes out to meet Mana weaver. We’re neck-deep in debt, and he’s tinkering with a bunch of stones."

He shook his head in disappointment.

Francis put the bread he was eating down, a puzzled expression etched on his face. "I thought he was going to do something about the debt. Maybe send a letter to the Duke’s household for them to help us, but he’s just wasting time with stones." His voice was thickly laced with disappointment.

Killian sighed and took a bite of the bread. "I don’t get it. Maybe he’s onto something, but we’re in no position for experiments-"

He stopped talking as soon as he heard footsteps. Both of them turned their faces around to see someone familiar.

Arzan walked in with a smile on his face. He looked between the two.

"Good morning, Lord Arzan!"

Both of them said at the same time. Killian glanced at Francis and decided to ask about the Syphon stones.

"Lord Arzan, we heard you were-"

"I have something to show to you both."

Before he could continue further, Arzan replied.

His eyes glistened with accomplishment, and his upward smile showed that he was proud of what he had done.

From the cloak he was wearing, he pulled out a stone and placed it on the table in front of them. It was glistening with a green shimmer, and they could see energy shifting inside.

There were also strange patterns engraved onto them on all sides.

"What are those patterns on the Syphon stone?" Francis asked, looking up at Arzan.

"Why are you showing us a Syphon stone, Lord Arzan?" Killian also asked, his face scrunching up in confusion.

"Place your hands on it," Arzan looked at the duo and said. His attention immediately shifted to Killian, urging him to touch the stone.

Killian frowned but didn’t dare to object. He slowly placed his hands on top of the stone. The cold surface of the stone made him wince as he felt it drawing his mana.

Slowly, the shimmer in the stone increased as Killian tried to resist. He flinched as the energy continued to drain from his body.

"Why are you trying to drain me early in the morning?" Killian asked and withdrew his hands immediately.

Arzan shook his head. "Place them back. And tell me what you feel."

Killian already knew what he would feel if he placed them back. "Lord Arzan, I still have the rest of the day left—"

"Just do so," Arzan insisted.

Killian and Francis locked eyes and both wondered at the same time. He hadn’t seen the Lord being so forceful before. Mostly, he would just order and act aloof.

"Well-" Killian obliged.

This time, when he kept his hands above the stones, he could feel a strange warmth emitting from the stone. The cold surface completely changed and it felt good.

"What... is that? And how..."

Killian questioned and looked up at Arzan who smiled.

"This is a Heat stone. And this is how we will be paying back our debt. We are going to sell these."