Volume 7, Chapter 43 – Replacement (Part 2)

“I see.”

With one arm, Yisi caught Laxy around the waist, and with the other, she caught the power core that had lost its support and was falling to the ground. She placed the unconscious Laxy on the wooden chair she had prepared earlier and compared the two power cores in her hand.

“They’re exactly the same size…”

But Yisi faced a problem.

How to put the core back in.

Laxy had certainly taken the core out, but she hadn’t told her how to put it back in. At first, Yisi had thought that the core was like a dry cell battery in an old-fashioned TV remote, something that could be easily removed just by opening a cover. But now, it seemed that was not the case at all. The process of removing and inserting the core was quite magical. There was neither a cavity nor any suture marks on Laxy’s chest.

“Hmm… I should have thought of this. What designer would be willing to leave a mark on such a perfect body? They must have used a special method to place the power source in an invisible place… I guess I’ll have to take it one step at a time.”

Thinking that if she failed, Laxy would never wake up again, Yisi’s palms couldn’t help but sweat slightly. In her nervousness, even her breathing became cautious.

I’ll first try to place the 10042 core on Laxy’s chest.

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When the core was placed on Laxy’s chest, a blue light shone from her chest again, though it was much dimmer than when the core was being removed.

Is the light dimmer because there’s not much magic power left in her body? In that case, it means that there is still some residual magic power inside Laxy, but it can only be used to absorb the core. Furthermore, this means there is a limited number of times the core can be replaced. If I use up the remaining magic power in Laxy’s body, I’m afraid that only a First-Rank Angel will be able to wake her up.

“I hope there are a few more tries left…”

The hand holding the power core felt a suction force. Then, the Type 10042 core in her hand was absorbed into Laxy’s body.

Yisi glanced at the [Omniscient Map].

Laxy’s level was still 41—indicating that the core’s capacity was not related to level—and her maximum magic power had not changed. The only problem was her current magic power. Laxy had less than 20 magic points, and there was no sign of it regenerating on its own.

Being unable to regenerate magic power was tantamount to being useless for an angel who would lose consciousness without it. This must be what Laxy meant by a ”withered core”. In other words, her plan to replace the 10043 core with the 10042 one had failed.

“Hmm… ugh.”

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Like someone who had just woken up, a low groan escaped Laxy’s throat, and she gradually began to stir.

In Yisi’s eyes, the current Laxy looked less like a sleeping person getting up and more like an inanimate object coming to life after receiving a soul. A sleeping person and a dead person look similar, but their atmosphere is completely different. Only someone who has truly seen a dead person would have this feeling.

“My lord? I remember we were replacing the core… Since I’m awake, it must mean the replacement is complete, right? In that case—”

Before Yisi could answer, Laxy sensed the magic power within her body and frowned.

“The amount of magic power is very low, and there are no signs of it regenerating… My lord, you have failed. Although your intentions were good, your power is still weak. We should still search for a First-Rank Angel…”

“Wait. Since you’re awake, Laxy, let’s do an experiment quickly. Try using a spell that costs about ten magic points.”

“This is pointless, my lord. But since you insist, then, [Light Arrow].”

A golden arrow shot from Laxy’s index finger towards the warehouse wall, embedding itself firmly.

On the [Omniscient Map], Laxy’s magic power had decreased by 14 points. Although the consumption was still inflated, it was much better than with her own power core. In other words, her guess was correct. The reason the level 41 Laxy couldn’t even defeat a few level 20 cult members was due to her power source.

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With the consumption of magic power, the spirit in Laxy’s eyes dimmed considerably. The expression with which she looked at Yisi was a mixture of relief and helplessness.

“The magic consumption is much less than before… It seems the problem is indeed with the power core, just as you suspected, my lord. But this is futile. The 10042 core has already withered. Simply finding the problem without a way to solve it is the dilemma we face.”

Sensing a hint of a world-weary elder from Laxy, Yisi blinked her beautiful blue eyes.

“No, isn’t finding the problem enough? Solving it is just a matter of time. Since the original power core can’t be used, we just have to make a new one that’s exactly the same.”

“Your intentions are good, and I can feel your sincerity, my lord. But the difficulty of creating a magic core is unimaginable. A magic core is polished from a magic crystal, and the shape of a magic crystal is determined from the moment it is mined. Even if you have something hard enough to process a magic crystal, you don’t have the corresponding craftsmanship. The slightest mistake in processing a magic crystal will cause the magic power within to dissipate, and a single slip-up could even trigger a magic power rampage, causing the crystal to explode. This is a process that not even the Second-Rank Angels, who are more skilled in precision work than I am, can accomplish—no, not even most First-Rank Angels can do it. You are just an ordinary human. It is impossible for you to create…”

Halfway through her sentence, Laxy’s voice suddenly became much quieter.

“My magic power is about to be completely depleted. My lord, please put my original core back. I can give up on searching for a First-Rank Angel, but please do not waste your time pursuing the impossible.”

“Yes, don’t worry, Laxy.”

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Watching Laxy fall back into a deep sleep, Yisi settled her down and then covered her with a thin blanket. Laxy’s clothes were even harder to put on than Pepe’s dress, so she could only make a rough attempt.

She let out a long breath.

“Next up is processing the magic crystal. Although I’ve wanted to challenge myself to process a sphere ever since I got the 10042 power source, I didn’t expect this day to come so soon. The person who processed a magic crystal into a sphere must have been someone incredible.”

Even with the help of the foundry platform, processing an irregular magic crystal into a circle was very difficult for her. Failure was almost a certainty.

“Well, I just have to try a few more times. It’s not like I’m short on magic crystals.”

Yisi casually dug out a corner of her chaotic inventory and piled it in a corner of the room. The surface was scattered with an exceptionally large number of magic crystals of various shapes and colors. Thanks to her habit of never wanting to throw away items and picking up anything valuable to save and sell to a shop, her inventory was full of these magic crystals, which were worthless in [Ragnarøk] but very useful in this world.

Choosing the smallest magic crystal, Yisi weighed it lightly in her hand.

“Let’s start with you.”