Smoking kills

Urrng—!

The world lost its color as I saw everyone around me freeze, save for one auburn haired boy in a linen coat.

"Is this enough!? I can't hold it for long." Arthur spoke with his breath giving out, beads of sweat accumulating on the bridge of his nose. If anyone were to see him right now, they'd think he ran the marathon like Pheidippides back in 490 BCE.

"It is. You can let go now." I spoke after taking a puff of my makeshift cigar and blowing out the smoke.

"Haaah!" He laid down on the marble floor and took deep breaths before asking me. " So?...Did you find anything? Or is static void too big of a hurdle for that astute mind of yours?" I could sense some teasing from his tone but there was some curiosity too.

"Do you think I smoked a cigar for no reason, Arthur?"

"Isn't that just a habit you picked up one year ago? When the girl named Jennifer tried to poison you?"

"That is true…. but is there a reason for me to smoke at this moment?"

"…..It's a wild conjecture, but maybe it is because you wanted to test the effect of smoke that left your body during static void?"

"Yes. Although it is a surprise that static void is not affecting the entire world but only the ones within a certain range, I was not prepared for the smoke affecting static void itself."

"Huh?"

"The strain on your core increased when I blew out smoke. Meaning, when you bring someone or something out of the aether art with you, your strain will increase."

"Kyuuu!" A cute roar resounded from outside the window as I saw the baby dragon disguised as a fox getting in with a rat in its mouth.

She set her prey down beside Arthur and nudged him with her nose.

The first time I saw Sylvie, I had this inexplicable urge to covet her. It felt like a pull on my conscious to steal her from Arthur.

Not in a romantic manner of course. God forbid I step into bestiality...

My interest in her stemmed from the potential she was born with.

Her anatomy was not the result of evolution driven by science or nature, but by magic. A race genetically developed to hold and use mana.

It was unfortunate that their brains were smaller in comparison….or was it fortunate? They were already on top of the food chain….. if they had been any smarter, they'd have started space exploration like humans.

But enough of that, the main focus of today was Arthur, namely, his departure.

Three years of training in Elenoir. The boy transformed greatly at a steady pace and was preparing for his journey to xyrus.

He was a little hesitant on showing me his trump card, but relented in the end.

A lot had happened in these three years.

I met the seer who just silently observed me with a complicated gaze. As if judging me for my future action. Had I not known any better, I'd have though she saw me commit war crimes against other kingdoms….. but I do know better!

There was another elf I got acquainted to. Something something Evesaur was his name I believe. He had a brash personality but bore a good heart.

"Hope we meet again." I shook hands with Arthur as he was about to get in the carriage and leave for good.

"Are you sure you're not going to address the situation?" I heard Tessia whisper that to him, but left before hearing the rest of it.

______________________________________________

The sun was setting when I entered the training facility. Inside, there were only two more people I was familiar with.

Alea Triscan and Aya Grephin.

The two elves were wearing white uniforms with golden badges of honor.

Suffice to say, it was within my expectation that the Elenoir kingdom would receive three artifacts instead of two like the other kingdoms.

Considering the fact that they sent Windsom to investigate the perpetrator of my tera-scale magic, it was a no brainer that they'd ensure, the one with such potential does not go beyond the white core stage.

So an extra artifact that boosts your core to the white core stage at the cost of giving you a level cap at white stage, is a given.

"The three of you step forward." Our instructor ordered us to step into the gate together and as we did so, we were teleported into the castle throne room.

There I saw the king, Alduin Eralith get up from his throne and coming towards us before starting the usual congratulatory speech.

'Its times like these that I wish my perception was not so high….'

I zoned out in the middle when he started to go into the history of our kingdom and its great figures in the past.

Holding back the yawn from escaping, I stepped forward to accept the artifact, and….

…..Huh?

"Da-" The sensation of ascending to the white core stage from a yellow core was so astonishing that I almost involuntarily let out profanities in front of the king.

I had a feeling that Alduin noticed it, but chose to ignore it.

But I seriously couldn't help it. It was like firecrackers were setting off inside my brain. The ease at which I controlled mana now was so….bizarre.

It was like an arm that I moved just because I wanted to do it. There were no set of instructions present like flexing and relaxing.

Although there was a delay at action due to the new senses opened up for me, it was just a matter of time before I got used to it.

There was also the heap of impure mana pushed out of my brain like a waterfall. Though….push was the wrong term on a technical perspective…

It was akin to a cleanse where the mana impurities were pushed out, leaving the pure clumps. Even now, I could feel my brain greedily sucking in mana from my core.

If I had to send out all the mana I currently held in its pure form, it could fill up a small pool.

It may not sound like much, but when you take into account that the exceptional mage like Aya Grephin had a capacity to fill a carriage with her mana, and she could take down a small army using only magic, it tells you how huge my capacity currently is.

But this wasn't the time for boasting.

Where was I?

Right, the ascension…

The others, did not fare so well….

"Hnnnng~"

What the fuck is wrong with you!? You shitty long eared pervert!

I wanted to curse at my fiancé for the first time as she let out a moan….. a very obscene maon with a seductive look in my direction.

I secretly thanked Aya for casting an illusion over her to make sure no one else noticed her behavior and sent her to prison. But judging by the accusatory glare I was receiving from her, it felt like I was in for another earful.

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let's see if this chapter reaches 30 comments