Celia stood entirely paralyzed by what she had just witnessed.
Never in her centuries of life had she heard of any creature capable of forcefully absorbing Mana from another living being. To her knowledge, no human, elf, or demi-human possessed such an ability.
Even if someone somehow managed to attempt it, common knowledge dictated that their Etheric Veins would instantly become corrupted, leading to a fatal case of Mana poisoning.
The only safe, universally accepted methods to replenish Mana were natural recovery through rest, or the faster alternative: consuming a Mana potion. For an Adventurer, their internal Mana core would seamlessly convert the alchemical fluid into usable Mana If a normal civilian drank the exact same potion, it would act as nothing more than an ordinary, slightly bitter liquid; without a Mana core, their body simply could not process it.
Yet, the basic law of Mana had just been shattered right in front of her.
What in the world am I seeing? Celia thought, tilting her head in profound bewilderment. She forcefully shook her head to clear her racing thoughts. It's fascinating, truly... but I have Kian's riddle to solve. I really need to get going.
She looked over at Lyssa, who had just finished carefully extracting the tiny yield of sweat from the adorable Myrkub.
"Lyss, I... I have to—"
Before Celia could finish her sentence, a sudden blur cut through the air. In a single heartbeat, the space between them vanished.
WHAM!
The sound of flesh and fabric violently colliding with the wooden floor echoed through the small lab. Celia blinked twice, her vision swimming slightly as the breath was temporarily knocked out of her lungs.
What... what just happened? she thought, her mind struggling to piece together the sudden shift in gravity.
She was laying flat on her back, staring directly up at the ceiling beams. Sitting squarely on top of her was Lyssa. The young girl's knees firmly bracketed Celia's waist, pinning her to the floor. Lyssa's thick leather-gloved hands were clamped down like iron vices around Celia's upper arms, holding them flush against the wood. Her face was hovering mere inches away, staring down at Celia's completely shocked expression.
Celia was utterly pinned.
In that agonizingly quiet moment, a cold wave of realization washed over her. She had gotten careless. She had allowed her guard to drop for a single, solitary second.
In the cruel, unforgiving world of Adventuring, a single second of lowered defenses was a fatal mistake. It could cost someone's life.
This specific incident with Lyssa would burn a valuable, permanent lesson into Celia's mind. From this exact day forward, she would never allow her guard to drop again—not even for a millisecond. Years later, this very trauma would be the sole reason a certain swordswoman from a foreign country would complain about never being able to find a single opening on Celia, even during a peaceful battle simulation played out in her mind over afternoon tea.
But... why? Celia's thoughts raced, panic finally setting in. That happened way too fast. I didn't even have time to react!
"Lyss, what are you doing?" Celia asked aloud as she tried to keep her voice steady.
Lyssa did not answer. She stared down at her in unblinking silence.
An uneasy, creeping dread settled deep in Celia's chest. Is she going to do something to me? I absolutely hate the idea of laying a hand on a weak civilian child, but I have to push her off.
Gathering her composure, Celia flexed her muscles and tried to heave Lyssa off her chest.
But Lyssa did not move an inch.
What? Celia's inner monologue fractured. She's heavy. No, wait, she's just a child. Of course she isn't heavy! Then why can't I push her back?
There was only one logical conclusion: the girl was physically stronger than she looked. Vastly stronger.
Celia braced herself for a second attempt. Though Lyssa's gloved hands were securely gripping her upper arms, Celia knew she held the ultimate advantage. She was an Adventurer. She possessed a fully developed Mana Core. Lifting a nine-year-old child should be trivial.
She shoved upward with twice the force.
But Lyssa was completely immovable.
Did I really become this weak just because I stopped Adventuring for a little while? Celia thought. No, that's impossible. Even if I sat idle for a decade, overriding a human civilian should be effortless! I have to push harder!
Gritting her teeth, Celia threw her entire weight and her maximum physical strength into a desperate heave. The floor creaked under the tension, but Lyssa remained perfectly anchored on top of her and stared down with those hollow, violet eyes.
Celia was completely stunned.
"How could this be?" Celia gasped aloud, her voice trembling. "How on earth...? Lyss, why are you this strong? Your body doesn't have any large muscle mass! What is going on—"
Then, the pieces finally clicked together in Celia's mind. The terrifying speed of the tackle, the absolute containment of her movements, and the unnatural, overwhelming density of the little girl's grip.
"It... it can't be," Celia whispered, her eyes widening. "Lyss, you have a Mana Core."
"Oh, yes," Lyssa finally spoke, her voice dropping back into its usual flat, clinical drone. "I already told you before that I'm anAlchemist, didn't I?"
She finally spoke, Celia thought as she let out a small breath of relief. Is she back to her senses now?
"But Alchemists just brew potions and dry herbs!" Celia argued fiercely, trying to reason with the child holding her down. "The Alchemists I know back in the capital are ordinary people. They don't have a single drop of Mana. True alchemy doesn't even require Mana to begin with!"
"That's a modern misconception," Lyssa replied smoothly, her expression entirely unchanged. "Real alchemy absolutely requires Mana to properly bind and synthesize high-grade potions and alchemicals. However, the practitioners of this era found a lazy bypass. There's a trick to it."
"A trick?" Celia asked, before catching herself. "Wait! That's completely beside the point! Why are you pinning me down right now? Let me go!"
"People in this era simply ground up tiny magic crystals and add them directly into the boiling potions," Lyssa continued, entirely ignoring Celia's protests. "That way, they can force the reaction without utilizing their own internal energy. It's a sneaky and annoying shortcut. But in ancient times, long before the widespread discovery and mining of magic crystals, all true Alchemists possessed vast stores of Mana. Today, any random normal person can call themselves an Alchemist. Well, it doesn't bother me one bit, because there are certain high-level alchemicals that only an Alchemist with a functioning Mana Core is capable of creating."
She isn't even listening to a single word I'm saying, Celia realized, a cold sweat breaking out on her forehead. This little girl is completely unhinged.
Lyssa still was not blinking. The sheer intensity of her unmoving gaze triggered a massive danger signal in Celia's instincts.
Even at my maximum physical strength, I can't break her grip, Celia calculated rapidly. I have no choice. I have to use the Trick. I'll have to momentarily enlarge the musculature of my arms to force a burst of power.
"I just realized something incredibly troublesome," Lyssa said suddenly, slowly leaning her face even closer to Celia's.
Celia immediately began molding her internal Mana. She's making her move.
Is she really about to dissect me? Is she going to harvest my organs to use as catalysts for her crazy experiments?!
As Lyssa's face drew closer, Celia's mind narrowed down to a hyper-focused point, calculating the exact window for a counter-attack. In her mind, it was a definitive matter of life or death.
She was entirely prepared to strike.
It will take about four milliseconds to enlarge my arms, Celia thought, her Mana humming beneath her skin.
But in the precise millisecond before Celia could activate the spell—
Lyssa abruptly let go of Celia's upper arms.
Celia froze, her spell stalling in her veins.
Lyssa's right hand slowly reached upward, gently brushing away a stray lock of blonde hair from Celia's face. Her leather glove slid down the side of Celia's head and stopped right at her left pointy ear. Celia could feel the rough, cool texture of the leather pressing against her skin.
Then, with an expression of purebliss, Lyssa began to softly pinch, touch, and rub Celia's left ear.
Celia lay completely flat on the floor and stared up in utter disbelief. What is she doing...? I almost used a lethal reinforcement spell to blow her away. Why did this kid tackle me and pin me to the floor just to touch my ears?! This girl is so... kind of weird!
Realizing there was no immediate threat of dissection, Celia let out a long, defeated sigh and allowed her body to go limp against the floor. She reluctantly let Lyssa continue to play with her pointy ear.
"So..." Celia muttered dryly. "What exactly is the 'troublesome' thing you just realized?"
"The Dungeon Rat," Lyssa complained, her thumb lightly stroking the tip of Celia's ear. "Its baseline Mana pool is too low. It's going to take a significant amount of time before it can gather enough Mana naturally through atmosphere absorption. That means I won't be able to trigger the Myrkub's aura response, which means I can't collect another batch of sweat for a while."
With her free hand, Lyssa held up the small glass vial containing the fresh harvest. The liquid barely coated the very bottom of the glass.
"I need significantly more than this," Lyssa grumbled, her brow furrowing in genuine annoyance.
"What?" Celia asked, her eyebrow twitching. "Did you seriously have to physically dominate me and pin me to the ground just to tell me that, Lyss?"
"I need a high-grade Mana potion to forcefully feed the Dungeon Rat," Lyssa continued. "Accelerating its Mana recovery speed is the only viable path to a continuous harvest."
She really has a selective hearing problem, Celia thought as she closed her eyes in sheer exhaustion.
"Don't you have any spare potions lying around the lab?" Celia asked.
"I do not," Lyssa responded flatly. "And the nearest trading town from this forest is a two-week journey by foot. I have absolutely no desire to waste an entire month walking back and forth just to purchase a standard Mana potion. I cannot wait a month."
"Why don't you just brew a Mana potion yourself?" Celia asked, gesturing vaguely toward the surrounding shelves. "You're an Alchemist, aren't you?"
"I can easily brew one," Lyssa clarified, finally stopping her ear-rubbing to look Celia in the eye. "But I don't have any of the necessary raw ingredients stocked in my inventory."
She's throwing a literal physical tantrum and tackling people because of a supply shortage? Celia thought, a wave of pity washing over her.
"I have to solve this operational crisis immediately," Lyssa declared, her voice tightening as she stared down at the elf.
Celia sighed, shaking her head. Then, a sudden memory flashed in her mind.
"Actually... I think I know of something that could help you," Celia said.
Lyssa's violet eyes instantly snapped wide open, flashing with a sudden, intense spark of surprise. "What is it?"
"Glisberry," Celia said.