Chapter 79

"Huh?"

Mikhail left a bewildered Terha blinking behind him and stepped into the general store.

He already knew what he needed to repair the magic tools.

An exploration jackknife and an ordinary portable blower.

Clink.

After paying three silver coins, Mikhail walked out with the items in both hands and stood before Terha.

She stared at him blankly for a moment, then scratched her cheek with an awkward smile.

"Ah… I appreciate the thought, but magic tools are delicate—you can't dry them with common stuff like that. You should just get a refund…."

"I know."

"What?"

Terha blinked. But instead of offering an explanation, Mikhail rummaged through his coat and produced a single gold coin.

He held the gleaming coin out in front of her.

"This is collateral. Take it and pull one magic tool out of the crate for me. I'll show you what I mean."

"You can't be serious. You're going to dry a magic tool with the stuff you just bought?"

"If it works, you won't get chewed out by your master, and your pay won't get docked either, right?"

Terha's gaze ping-ponged between Mikhail and the gold coin, her eyebrows squirming this way and that.

After a moment, she seemed to make up her mind.

She reached out and plucked the coin from his hand.

"Wait here."

Terha pulled a magic tool from one of the crates and held it out to him.

It was a spanner with a formula drive mechanism and mana battery mounted at its center.

[Tool: Magic Tool Calibration Spanner]

[A repair-type magic tool used for assembling and connecting specially inscribed components. The attached mana battery and formulas enhance or add functionality to magic tools.]

"Thanks."

Mikhail took the spanner, ran his eyes across its surface once, then set it on the ground.

Clatter.

He picked up the exploration jackknife next.

Beneath his grip, the smooth blade caught the light with a keen gleam as it slid open.

He tightened his fingers around the handle and channeled mana into the knife.

Tszzzt.

Dark blue energy coiled around the entire blade in an instant.

"W-Wait! What are you trying to—!"

Terha's shout came a split second too late.

Mikhail raised the jackknife high and drove it straight down toward the magic tool on the ground.

Whoosh!

"AAAAAAH!"

Terha's horrified scream rang through the air.

But Mikhail didn't flinch. He simply gazed down at the knife in his grip, eyes calm and settled.

"……"

The razor-sharp tip had frozen just short of piercing the spanner's formula drive mechanism.

A transparent energy radiating from the magic tool was holding the blade at bay, refusing to let it advance any further.

Silence hung in the air as though time itself had stopped.

Then, beneath the poised tip of the blade, a faint blue glow began to surface.

Tszzzzzzz….

The magic tool trembled finely and began etching a new formula across its surface.

A protective formula—designed to prevent unexpected damage.

Mikhail allowed himself a small smile, picked up the spanner, and turned to Terha.

"Now you can dry it with the regular blower."

Clatter.

He held the spanner out to her.

Instead of taking the magic tool hovering right under her nose, Terha stared straight into his face.

"What—how did you do that?"

"Just as you saw."

"No, that's not what I'm asking! How did you know there was a protective formula embedded in it?!"

Terha thrust her flushed face forward, eyes blazing with curiosity as she pressed him for answers.

Mikhail held her gaze—those brown eyes brimming with questions—and studied them for a quiet moment.

Then he answered, slow and unhurried.

"If this was made by someone who worked with Haeron, I figured they'd have paid close attention to safety and durability."

Terha gave a slow nod, then dug through her pocket and fished out a coin.

"Here. Your collateral."

Mikhail pocketed the coin and pushed himself to his feet.

He gathered the crates of magic tools from the ground and tilted his head toward Terha.

"I'll help you dry the rest. But we should probably move somewhere else first—foot traffic's starting to pick up."

---

By the time he finished helping Terha and parted ways, the sky had already dimmed to a dusky gray.

Mikhail felt the dampness thickening in the breeze as he walked back toward the hotel.

Two or three hours slipped by after that.

Shaaaaaaaa.

The relentless drumming of rain poured down over his drifting consciousness.

Mikhail opened his eyes slowly.

The hotel room swam into focus, and across from him, the shape of a boy sitting opposite gradually sharpened into clarity.

"……"

Mikhail studied Julien—motionless, eyes still closed—before dropping his gaze downward.

A faint glow seeped from the formulas inscribed on the bracelet's surface.

The sensation in his hand, still clasped with Julien's, had grown sharper than before.

Julien's body heat, the subtle tremors, and the mana gathered at his fingertips—all of it prickled against Mikhail's skin like tiny needles.

Hummmm….

The formulas etched into the bracelet dimmed and faded.

Mikhail released Julien's hand and let out a quiet breath.

What they'd just completed was a mana fusion training session.

The power they would need to stave off the crisis bearing down on this city.

And a hidden strategy—one that would, in time, make Julien realize everything he'd lost. Because for now, Julien couldn't feel any of it.

"Mmm."

Just then, Julien stirred across from him, his upper body twitching before his eyelids slowly rose.

Mikhail watched him and spoke.

"Good work."

"Mm. You too… We barely did anything, so why am I this drained?"

Julien smiled sheepishly and leaned back, sinking into the chair.

One soft exhale drifted out.

He raised his right hand and flexed his fingers open and shut, his tone turning lighter.

"Still, it was kind of amazing. The more I focused, the more I could actually feel every little sensation from you—really clearly."

That meant the first mana fusion had gone smoothly.

Mikhail gave a small nod and slipped the bracelet off, setting it on the table.

Julien hauled himself upright from the chair with a sluggish effort and removed his bracelet as well.

At that exact moment, the pitch-black sky outside flashed white.

KA-KRACK!

Mikhail turned toward the window.

Rain lashed the glass, and a massive peal of thunder shook the room. Another bolt of lightning struck right after.

Julien, staring out the window just the same, murmured under his breath.

"It's really coming down. Wouldn't be surprised if something broke in this weath—"

KRRR-RUMMBLE!

The mana lamp lighting the room flickered out.

"Ah."

Thick blue darkness swallowed the room in an instant.

And in that same breath, lightning struck.

FLASH!

Mikhail caught a glimpse of Julien's profile, momentarily exposed.

An expression stripped of all emotion or unease—flat and mineral. Something about it stirred a faint sense of déjà vu.

Because it was identical to the moment he'd written—the scene where Julien faced the final verdict handed down from the South.

BANG!

The door burst open, and a cluster of familiar figures tumbled in.

Two fluffballs stood with their fur bristling, pressed flank-to-flank against each other.

Edwin hovered in the doorway, a pillow clutched under one arm, shoulders heaving.

"S-So, like! There's just SO much thunder and lightning, r-right?! And I think these little guys are kinda scared! A-And I was worried about you guys too! Okay?!"

KRRR-RUMMBLE!

The flash of lightning revealed Edwin's face—drained of all color, as if he'd just stared down a ghost.

Julien's expression softened, and soon he was snickering behind his hand, waving Edwin in.

"Alright, alright. Stop standing there and get in here."

Edwin darted inside without hesitation. Han and Ul scurried in right behind him.

Mikhail swept his gaze over the two people and two creatures now huddled together, then walked to the shelf and grabbed a lantern and matches.

Fwt.

A bright flame bloomed to life, casting a warm glow over the room. Mikhail set the lantern on the table.

He looked over the faces watching him, one by one, and spoke.

"It'll take about an hour for the mana lamp to get fixed. You can stay till then."

---

The raging storm finally died down around daybreak, as if it had never happened at all.

"Mrrrgh…."

Julien, Edwin, Han and Ul—every last one of them was still lost in dreamland.

Mikhail had woken early and followed the path leading behind the city.

His destination was the crown jewel of the lake city Elfensia, its most iconic scenic attraction.

Lake Elfium.

"……"

After roughly thirty minutes of walking from the hotel, Mikhail arrived at the lakeshore.

He stood still for a moment, surveying his surroundings.

Rustle. Rustle.

Dew-laden wildflowers swayed gently in the breeze, and the damp earth gave off a rich, loamy scent.

At the center of the vast lake sat a massive elliptical fountain—an intricate assembly of components and formulas—resting in silence.

Across the placid surface, round little elemental spirits kept bobbing up and vanishing again.

Blub. Blub blub.

On the lake, right near its center, a single boat carried an old man with a notably large and sturdy frame.

An oversized toolbox and a jacket that proudly displayed the northern crest.

One glance at the figure was all Mikhail needed to place him.

'Cashion Retri. A renowned magic tool craftsman, and a man who once guarded the northern borderlands.'

Mikhail pulled his gaze from the figure on the boat and turned his steps toward a nearby thicket.

There was something he needed to take care of before meeting Cashion.

"……"

The thicket had been left untamed—likely to preserve the area's natural appearance.

He trampled through scraggly grass and brushed past three or four thick tree trunks.

Then a tree appeared, its canary-yellow leaves wilting and curling one by one.

Mikhail confirmed the tree's condition, crouched down, and pressed his hand against the leaf-covered ground.

Rustle.

Something bulged beneath his palm. He tightened his grip and wrenched it free.

CRACK.

What came loose in his hand was a stake—identical to the one he'd seen in Colton Winery.

[Item: Stake of Calamity's Aid]

[A magic tool planted by a member of ■■■, one of the main storyline's primary antagonists, to intensify the disaster. Destroying the formula weakens the disaster's power, but draws a troublesome tracking spell. Best left untouched.]

This time, however, the mana imbued in the stake was stronger than before—a stinging heat bit into his palm the moment he touched it.

"……"

Mikhail clenched the stake tight and unleashed his mana.

The pitch-black stake resisted the unexpected surge, spitting static noise and flaring with scorching heat as though trying to fight back.

But it couldn't hold.

It crumbled apart in his grip.

Fssssh.

Charred ash trickled through his fingers. Mikhail let out a low breath and looked down at his palm.