Volume 1, Chapter 30 – Fia’s Magic

“So, the mana surge is what allows us elves to sense magic? Without it, would the elves lose their magical abilities?”

Like a student being taught by her teacher, Fia sat at the table, listening attentively to Anastasia’s guidance.

After the self-introductions during the day, Claire had left to treat patients, leaving only Fia and Anastasia in the clinic. Since there was no one else in the clinic besides Claire, they didn’t have to worry about being discovered—though it wouldn’t have mattered even if they were.

As for Claire’s question about who Fia really was, while Fia’s answer left Claire puzzled—unable to understand why the elf princess wouldn’t be affected by the curse—Claire didn’t press further. Though Claire seemed a bit mischievous on the surface, she was actually a very kind and approachable woman.

“Correct. An elf can lose their legs, but they must never lose the mana surge on their arms. However, not all elves have their mana surge on their right arm. For example, Your Highness is on the back of your right wrist, while mine is on my left shoulder. When using magic, as long as you feel the mana in the surge changing, it means the spell has been successfully cast. This is one area where we elves surpass other races.”

“For humans, the process of sensing mana is extremely lengthy, usually taking anywhere from two months to two years. Some may spend their entire lives without ever understanding what mana even feels like. For us elves, the time required is far shorter.”

Anastasia’s usually serious face showed a hint of pride, clearly pleased with this superiority over humans.

“Does that mean every elf is a magic caster?”

“You could say that, but where there are advantages, there are also disadvantages. Compared to humans, we elves have a harder time accumulating mana. For example, if it takes a human one year to advance from a first-tier magic caster to a second-tier one, it might take us elves two, three, or even four times as long. However, our average lifespan is much longer than humans’, so it’s not too much of a disadvantage.”

Anastasia paused, then looked at Fia with deep respect.

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“Moreover, there are geniuses among us elves, like Your Highness, who can reach the seventh tier of mana reserves in less than a century. Ah, I forgot to explain the significance of tiers for magic casters. Magic casters are ranked based on the amount of mana they possess and whether they can cast spells of the corresponding tier. For example, while my mana reserves have reached the fifth tier, I cannot cast fifth-tier spells, so at best, I’m only a quasi-fifth-tier warrior.”

It sounded a bit like a game.

If mana was like experience points and tiers were levels—where each tier required ten levels—then Anastasia would be like a player who had just reached level 50 but lacked the skill points to learn level 50 abilities. Meanwhile, the elf princess would be a player between levels 71 and 75, barely able to use some of the weaker seventh-tier spells.

It was worth mentioning that in this world, the greater one’s mana reserves, the stronger their physical abilities. Once you had mana, everything became much easier. For example, a farmer with high mana reserves would have better stamina and could plow more land.

And if someone had mana reserves equivalent to the first tier, they could serve as a captain or similar position in the military. They might not be able to take on ten enemies alone, but they could certainly handle three. Warriors like Anastasia, who were quasi-fifth-tier, were already rare in this world, ranking in the upper-middle in terms of strength. Even in the entire city of Aurora, there might only be one or two.

Of course, Fia’s attention wasn’t on this. She cautiously asked a probing question.

“Less than a century? Anastasia, how old am I?”

She could look up when elves typically reached puberty, so all she needed to know was her own age to determine whether she had crossed that threshold.

“Elves aren’t considered adults until they’re over a hundred years old. Your Highness, you haven’t reached adulthood yet—I’ve only just reached it myself. Also, Your Highness, you shouldn’t keep touching your mana surge, even through clothing. It’s considered impolite, like a human walking around while covering their… private parts.”

“Uh. Got it.”

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Fia quickly moved her hand away from her mana surge.

“The reason for this rule is that we elves can reproduce through our mana surges. In a way, the mana surge is also a reproductive organ. Of course, we can also reproduce through sexual intercourse like humans, but that’s limited to male-female pairs. When two elves are both male or both female, the mana surge becomes the only means of reproduction.”

“Huh?”

Fia’s head instantly filled with countless question marks. If not for Anastasia’s dead-serious expression, Fia would have suspected she was being tricked.

That the mana surge could replace reproductive organs for genetic transmission didn’t surprise Fia—she had seen the biology of silicon-based lifeforms before. She could even grudgingly accept that two female elves could reproduce, given that cloning and gene editing were already widespread in her world. But two males reproducing? That was too absurd. Males didn’t have organs capable of carrying a baby.

“Anastasia, can magic really cultivate babies outside the body?”

“Your Highness, what kind of nonsense are you saying? If such magic existed, we would have long since bred countless elves who viewed the nation as their parents and devoted their lives solely to its service. You’re asking how two males can reproduce, right? Solving that problem requires borrowing the Branch of the World Tree. After two elves complete the ritual with their mana surges, they can pray to the Branch of the World Tree to produce offspring.”

This is the world of magic, huh…

Fia didn’t know what to say. In a way, while this wasn’t as advanced as atomic reconstruction from her era, it was definitely higher-tech than gene editing. This was too magical.

“Ahem. So, Your Highness, you must never expose your mana surge to others, much less let them touch it. Otherwise, it could damage your reputation.”

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Anastasia’s stern expression reminded Fia of something. Hiding her right hand under the table, she hesitantly asked:

“Then yesterday, didn’t you…?”

Yesterday, to confirm whether Fia was the elf princess, Anastasia hadn’t just looked at her mana surge—she had also touched it repeatedly.

Anastasia’s facial muscles twitched imperceptibly, though her expression remained unchanged.

“Your Highness, we are half-sisters, and besides, that was only to confirm your identity. Of course, it wasn’t an issue. As your personal servant, how many times do you think I’ve seen your mana surge?”

“Uh…”

That was an irrefutable argument.

Failing to notice Anastasia’s unnatural expression, Fia quickly dismissed what seemed like a “trivial matter” and moved on.

Anastasia, too, swiftly steered the conversation elsewhere.

“When we elves focus and channel mana into our mana surge, we can learn all the spells we’ve mastered. For example, the [Red Lotus of Calamity] you used this morning should appear in the records of your mana surge. But while Your Highness excels at fire magic, I don’t recall you ever learning the fifth-tier [Red Lotus of Calamity], much less casting it without an incantation. When did you learn it?”

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So the mana surge can show me the spells I’ve learned? Then what’s that silver nebula called?

Anastasia’s words gave Fia an idea. She immediately focused her attention on the mana surge in her right hand. Soon, she felt something faint and intangible gathering in her right arm—this was probably mana. Fia imagined her attention as a hand, gripping the mana and stuffing it into the surge.

In an instant, just like when she had seen the elf princess’s life flash before her eyes, a stream of information appeared in Fia’s mind.

The most prominent was [Fairy Fire], written in elvish. Beyond that, there were words only Fia could understand—text from the Human Alliance.

Fia’s eyes immediately locked onto the top two entries.

[Particle Repair]

[Orbital Beacon Bombardment]

“…Huh?”

A cute sound escaped her lips as Fia couldn’t help but tilt her head in confusion.