Capítulo 41: What Will You Do?

Linfel took the magic Energy back into his Core and redirected it to his soul, which was one with the Core. The first time he absorbed Magic Energy, it changed his colored Core into a Yellow one. At that time, he could feel the core transforming to adapt to this new type of energy.

However, now that he thinks about it, that change also happened to his soul. 'Most likely, I changed because my soul took it first. I was almost without energy back then, so I was desperate to absorb anything. Without me noticing, my Soul Took the color of that energy, and so did my core. Could it be that if I absorb Red Magic Energy with my soul, I will reach Level Two straight away?' Linfel couldn't help but wonder.

The Red Magic Energy quickly filled the entire extent of the Core, and the soul within it also took that Energy. Both worked together, allowing the soul to take the Red Magic Energy always gradually. It took a few minutes, but Linfel finally noticed a few changes start to happining.

'Hm?' Some very tiny spots within his core and soul began to change color, taking a more reddish tone. Those spots were still yellow, though. Linfel continued that practice, absorbing more and more Red Magic Energy into his soul. Not long after, the Red Magic Energy he had stored was gone.

"Linfel..." Alvin spoke with a surprised expression. "Your Yellow Magic Energy got slightly denser now. It looks a lot more like the Yellow Energy of Familiars that was close to Level Up."

Felia quickly agreed. "Indeed, you did that with only half a Red Magic Stone? That's crazy..."

Linfel took a look at himself in the mirror. "Hehehe! I knew it! When I absorbed Magic the First Time, I took it with my soul, too. Now, I did the same process, and it worked. I can feel several spots in my Core and Soul going in the direction of Red Magic Energy."

He quickly looked at the Red Magic Stone Boxes and felt excited. "Well, let's not stop here."

The same box was open and Linfel quickly took out the remaining Magic Energy of the Red Magic Stone. The stone broke apart right after, having gone dry of Magic Energy completely. Linfel ignored that and simply focused on cleaning the Red Magic Energy.

The impurities of the Magic Energy rushed out of his Core, bringing with it quite a big amount of the Magic Energy itself that was too contaminated. The Magic Energy was definitely a lot better. After cleaning Low-Grade Yellow Magic Energy into Low-Grade Red Magic Energy, Linfel loses 90% of the Magic Energy of the Stones. With the Red Magic Stones, however, he only loses around 80% of it. Considering the Red Magic Energy was much more compressed, 20% of a Red Magic Stone is still a lot, especially when you consider it is now High-Level Red Magic Energy.

Alvin looked at the Red Magic Energy that escaped Linfel's body. "Such a waste... Can I use-"

"Out of the question!" Linfel immediately stopped his words. "The Red Magic Energy you are seeing is truly just the dreg of the real product. If you try to absorb and integrate it into your core, you will feel a short-term improvement. But, as time passes, your own core will definitely suffer. It is different from absorbing a normal Red Magic Stone since it still has all of its properties. The one I'm eliminating can only be considered poison. Understood?"

Alvin bitterly smiled and nodded. 'Well, I'm sure a lot of the students in the academy wouldn't mind these risks if they could simply absorb Red Magic Energy...' he thought in the end. He most likely would be one of them if he didn't have Linfel.

The integration of Red magic Energy into his soul continued when suddenly...

*Argh!*

Linfel's Core fell to the floor as a grunt came out.

"Linfel!" Alvin and Felia were shocked. Alvin quickly picked him up and put him on the bed, not knowing what to do. "Are you okay? Are you still there?"

"Y-Yeah..." Slowly, Linfel's Magic Energy began to take a humanoid shape as he began to float again. "Holy shit... that almost slipt my soul in two."

"What happened?" Felia quickly asked back.

Linfel already knew the answer. "Red Magic Energy is indeed much gentler than Primordial Energy, but it doesn't change the fact a Soul is a very delicate thing. I pushed it a little too hard due to my excitement, and my Soul immediately paid the price. Simply put, my level is too low to take in so much High-Level Red Magic Energy at once."

Alvin sighed in relief. "The important thing is that you are fine. Has there been any lasting damage?"

"No," Linfel shook his head. "But I will need to rest for a while. It is definitely the end of Magic Energy Integration for today."

Felia didn't like the idea. "You better not absorb more High-Level Red Magic Energy for now. It will be the same as playing with death. Wait until you reach level two. That will make things a lot safer. For now, concentrate on the Low-Level magic Energy you can make from Yellow Magic Stones. This one should be fine."

Linfel agreed with her. "Yes, I thought the same thing. The difference between Low-Grade and High-Grade Red Magic Energy is enormous."

"Of course!" Alvin nodded. "Have you seen the price of Medium and High-Grade Red magic Stones compared to Low-Grade ones?"

Linfel hasn't truly checked yet. "Let me see." He took his MCOM and quickly took a look at the online market. "Yeah... that makes sense."

-Medium-Grade Red Magic Stone: 1600 Academy Credits.-

-High-Grade Red Magic Stone: 4000 Academy Credits.-

"This is a good thing, though," said Linfel. "I will never have the need to buy Medium and High-Grade Magic Stones. I can always stick to Low-Grade ones and clean their energy."

"That's definitely great," Alvin was happy to hear that. "By the way, you spent all your Academy Credits in those Red Magic Stones. What will you do?"

"Oh, don't worry," Linfel smiled confidently. "I have plenty of Yellow Magic Energy available for me to use on a daily basis. Hehe!"

On the next day, at night, Linfel came to see Aelua at her research facility. "Linfel! Where were you yesterday?"

"Sorry, sorry," Linfel apologized. "I had a little trouble with my Magic Energy Integration. I was forced to rest for the rest of the day so I could recover."

"A problem with Magic Energy Integration?" Aelua found it strange. "But you should have a technique perfect for your core in your memories. Why would there be a problem?"

"I'm not like other Familiars," Linfel explained. "I was born without the general knowledge most Familiars have. I need to learn everything from scratch, and yesterday was the first day I learned about the methods of Magic Energy Integration."

"I see..." Aelua understood. "Well, if you ask me, making a Familiar like that is just annoying. But then again, you managed to become independent, so this is your problem and your problem only. Your master doesn't need to worry about your education."

She then took out her MCOM and showed something to Linfel. "By the way, I got the news. You finished in the top ten during the last Field Exam, right?" She smiled at Linfel right after. "It was because of your ridiculously high Magic Energy Sensitivity, right?"

"You can tell?" Linfel asked back, surprised.

"I've been to the Dark Canyons before," Aelua explained. "That place is pretty much a maze. However, considering your sensitivity, I wondered if you were able to feel the Magic Energy Flow in the area. Seems like I was right."

Linfel didn't deny her words. "Yeap, that's pretty much it. People are still thinking that Donfin, Milia, or Miranda got privileged information and my group was only tagging them. Hahaha!"

"I can definitely see that happening," Aeulua also smiled, finding it funny. "Anyway, you have two days' worth of Magic Energy Separation to make. But with your sensitivity, that shouldn't be an issue at all."

"Yes," Linfel quickly nodded. "Well then, I'll start today's work."

Aelua nodded and turned around, going back to her room. Linfel already knew the entire process, so there wasn't a need for her to observe anymore. She could simply come out later and check the containers.

Seeing that Aelua left, Linfel couldn't hold his excitement anymore. He quickly went for the first Magic Energy Receptor, which was brimming with Yellow Magic Energy collected during the day from one of the nine pillars. 'Hahaha! Free Magic Energy, and a lot of it!'

Immediately, he began to absorb the Magic Energy and separate the Semi-Transparent Yellow magic Energy from Space before putting it into the container. That was his job. As for the normal Magic Energy, which was over 99% of all the Magic Energy in the receptors, Linfel began to clean it.

Yellow Magic Energy escaped his Core and dissipated in the surroundings. The Receptor's Magic Energy was even more polluted than the Magic Energy inside the Low-Grade Yellow Magic Energy Stones. As Aelua mentioned before, it was simply impossible for Maguses and Familiars to use such impure energy for Integration, so it had to be discarded...

Not for Linfel, though. The impurities didn't matter. His core could get rid of all of it. Sure, he would have to discard most of the Magic Energy for the exact same reason. However, the Nine pillars gathered so much of it that it completely made up for the losses. Above all, Linfel didn't need to pay even a single Academy Credit for it all!

Linfel was excited, but he was also a little bit nervous. He almost damaged his Soul the last night, and he concluded that it was most likely due to his low level. But... he couldn't be absolutely sure about it. It wasn't before he spent an hour and reached the fourth pillar that he finally relaxed.

'Sure enough, it is my level, which is basically the strength of my soul. I'm cleaning all the energy and producing Low-Grade Red Magic Energy. Fortunately, this level of Magic Energy is not too stressful for my soul. I can continue to integrate it into my Soul, and it is slowly changing my core.'

Linfel continued his work without any issues, reaching the eighth of the nine receptors he had to extract and separate the Magic Energy. However, because he was also using it for his own leveling, he was taking a lot longer than usual.

Aelua, who was working on the reports of her research, finally remembered Linfel hadn't appeared yet. 'Why is he taking this long?'

She came out of her room and made her way to the receptors. There, she saw the Magic Energy escaping Linfel's Core. That was normal. The contaminated Magic Energy had to be expelled. That's how the work goes. However, she also noticed that the amount of Magic Energy Linfel got rid of was smaller than the amount he was taking in.

Immediately, she understood what he was doing. "LINFEL!" She ran to him and covered the receptor. "What the hell are you doing?! You can't use this Magic Energy for integration! It will destroy your core!"

Linfel was taken aback for a moment. "Oh! Why are you here? I haven't finished yet."

"You were taking too long, so I came to check on you," Aelua explained. "Why are you doing such a dangerous thing?"

Linfel shrugged. "I have my reasons. Don't worry, Aelua, I won't cause you trouble."

"You are already causing trouble, idiot," Aelua complained. "If you collapse, then I will need to find someone else for the job, and no one else can do what you are doing here. You have helped me a lot with your perfect job. I can't let you lose yourself here."

Linfel sighed. He truly was not at any risk. But he also couldn't tell her he was immune to the impurities of Magic Energy. "I'm sorry, but... If I can't do this, I don't have much of a reason to continue coming here anymore. It's the Magic Energy that attracts me, even if it is polluted. Please understand."

Aelua was taken aback. She thought he was here for the Academy Credits instead. "Can't you simply buy Low-Grade Yellow Magic Stones? I'm paying 100 Academy Credits per night for you. That's at least 33 Magic Stones. They are the worst out there, but definitely safe to use, differently from this Energy you are taking. Besides, 33 Low-Grade Yellow Magic Stones are more than enough to last two or three days usually. You truly don't need to do this." Little did she know Linfel used hundreds in a single day.

"Also," Aelua continued. "You won't find places that pay 100 Academy Credits this easily every day. Consider that."

Linfel obviously couldn't just give up. "I still must insist. My Academy Credits already have a destination, so I can only count on this Magic Energy. Besides... I can definitely make more Academy Credits now if I want."

Linfel then moved to a Terminal and used his Magic Energy signature to access it. Finally, he pointed out. "Look at my Rank."

"Rank C Familiar!" Aelua was shocked. "You got sent to Rank C just like that?!"

Linfel nodded. "That I did. So, simply put, I can take quite some good tasks in the Mission Hall now, so 100 Academy Credits per day isn't that hard to do anymore. In the end, I'm only coming back here for the Magic Energy, nothing else."

Aelua still wanted to stop him. However, she couldn't pay him anything extra with her budget, so she didn't know what to do. "Is that truly the only way for you to remain? Will you not reconsider? I truly don't wish to lose such a great helper."

"I'm fine," Linfel spoke back. "As long as you leave me to use the Magic Energy, I will come back every day. Well, at least until I don't need it anymore, which won't happen any time soon. As for the dangers of the impurities, that's something for the future me to care about. This is the good thing about being an independent Familiar; I can make my own decisions."

"Sigh..." Aelua gave up and uncovered the Magic Receptor. "Fine. If you want to get yourself ruined, then so be it. However, I warned you. Don't blame me later when things turn for worse."

"Thank you," Linfel was happy to hear that. "Now, time to continue." At the very least, he wouldn't need to hide his actions anymore from her.