"Ugh..."
A bead of sweat rolled down Elis Wiegert's forehead.
Staring into Rozen's cold, piercing eyes, Elis felt as if her entire being had been laid bare. It was as if all her secrets had been exposed, leaving her completely vulnerable, unable to conceal anything.
Elis had every reason to believe that if she made any sudden moves, she would be struck down by Rozen before she could accomplish her goal.
Even though Elis possessed extraordinary power and would never lose to a human, Rozen was undoubtedly an exception.
After all, Rozen wielded High-Grade Mana, possessing power comparable to Collapse Force.
Moreover, with his mysterious abilities and means, Elis felt that if she acted rashly, she would be instantly killed.
At this moment, Elis could only force a smile.
"It's nothing... It's just that this power truly lives up to our expectations..."
That statement wasn't untrue.
"With this power, humanity might finally have a chance to fight against the Armored Beetles."
Freon took a deep breath, trying to calm herself, but the shock and excitement in her heart were still hard to suppress.
"...Unfortunately, this power is too sacred for humans to control, right?"
Cris also tried to regain her composure, whispering these words.
This was naturally not a power humans could control.
If humanity couldn't even refine Compressed Mana to its limit, how could they possibly handle Foreign Mana?
According to Rozen's own estimation, even with the perfect mana control brought by Mind's Eye, he could only refine Compressed Mana to its utmost limit. To take it a step further and have mana transcend into High-Grade Mana, his Mind's Eye would need to reach the level of the divine.
And to compress High-Grade Mana would require mana control beyond that.
As for Foreign Mana, only a perfected Mind's Eye could master such power.
Otherwise, let alone being able to use it, refining it would be impossible.
Of course, before that, issues related to the level of life itself, the vessel, and its limits must be resolved.
Otherwise, like Rozen, even with a perfected Mind's Eye, Foreign Mana could not be refined.
As its name suggests, Foreign Mana is a power beyond the comprehension of all life, transcending the domain that the world can permit.
In other words, Foreign Mana cannot be naturally born in the world. Only someone like Rozen, who possesses a perfected Mind's Eye capable of understanding everything and travels between worlds, being a miracle and an existence beyond the world, could create such power.
Even so, constrained by his own existence and concept, as a living being, Rozen could only rely on external forces to create this power; he could not possess it himself.
But this was only the beginning.
Rozen needed to grasp this power in his hands.
Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to achieve his goals in this world.
For this reason, Rozen chose to generate it outside his body.
(Once I successfully refine Foreign Mana, I will be able to absorb it into my body, allowing it to transform my vessel.)
Just like a cup of clear water, which wouldn't change color without reason, but if a drop of dye were added, even just one drop, it would spread and color the entire cup.
As long as he could refine Foreign Mana and absorb it, Rozen's life level, genetic limits, and vessel potential would all be sublimated subtly.
This might not grant Rozen immense power.
It was merely a key.
A key that would allow Rozen to gain a constitution capable of refining Foreign Mana.
Once successful, Rozen could use the supreme mana control brought by his perfected Mind's Eye to refine Foreign Mana.
And when Rozen had refined all the High-Grade Mana in his body into Foreign Mana, that would be the moment he achieved his goal—complete mastery of the power of "Miracle."
However, there was no need for Rozen to tell these people about this.
In the minds of the others, since Rozen couldn't refine Foreign Mana and had to rely on external facilities to generate it, he couldn't control this power either.
So, everyone continued to gaze at the reactor in front of them, watching the flames within the reactor, their minds filled with various thoughts.
Even Freon couldn't help but speak.
"Since this power is so important, is it really safe just to leave it here?"
Freon was genuinely concerned about the safety of this place.
Although Freon had learned about Rozen's research on this power in the past, seeing it with her own eyes still left her shocked, and she saw hope for humanity.
Since that was the case, as the Head of the Sky Wizards Division, Freon felt it was her duty to protect this extremely important place to prevent any mishaps.
But if Freon could think of it, how could Rozen not?
"Don't worry. This place is just as important to me. Do you think I wouldn't have taken precautions?"
Rozen said nonchalantly, attracting everyone's attention.
"What precautions have you taken?"
Cris asked somewhat hesitantly.
Rozen glanced at Cris, then spoke.
"Because I still need the manpower and resources of the Alchemist Division, people come and go here every day. I can't set up a barrier, nor can I lay any traps. I can only use magic to protect the mana reactor so that it isn't damaged by anyone."
But this wasn't enough to deal with emergencies.
In light of this...
"I have stationed the most reliable guard here, who watches over this place 24 hours a day, so there won't be any problems."
Rozen's meaningful words left everyone stunned.
A guard?
What guard?
Did Rozen station a guard here?
Freon, Cris, and Elis couldn't help but look around.
This only elicited another comment from Rozen.
"Don't bother looking. You won't be able to see her. She doesn't need sleep or food. She can guard this place on her own, and even if the entire Mistgun were destroyed, she could turn the situation around. You can rest assured."
Saying this, Rozen ignored their thoughts and directly turned to look at Elis.
"This is my research."
"I wonder if it meets your expectations?"
"Ms. Elis?"
Rozen spoke with a faint smile.
Elis could only muster a somewhat unnatural smile.
"It's even more impressive than I imagined. It really surprised me. You truly live up to the name of the 'Mage King,' Mr. Rorelei."
Elis's words seemed somewhat insincere.
"You're too kind," Rozen said flatly. "Well, now that you've seen it, let's leave."
Upon hearing this, everyone turned their heads again, looking at the mana reactor, watching the flames churning inside, as if they wanted to remember this moment forever. Then, with their own thoughts, they left.
Only the mana reactor continued to operate, causing the flames within to keep roiling and ascending.
After that, Rozen and the others said nothing more.
"If there's nothing else, I'll head back to class now. Excuse me," Rozen said casually and left.
"I'll also return to my work. Apologies for the less-than-adequate hospitality," Freon added with her usual formality before returning to her office to continue her tasks.
Cris and Elis watched the two of them leave, or more accurately, they were focused on watching Rozen leave.
Both of them just kept their eyes on Rozen's back, not saying a word for a long time.
"Sigh…"
It was unclear how much time passed before Elis let out a breath.
"I think I finally understand why Onii-sama speaks so highly of him," Elis said, her tone mixed with understanding and frustration.
The understanding came from finally grasping how formidable Rozen was. The frustration, however, stemmed from the fact that Elis, who had no fondness for Rozen, was forced to acknowledge this fact, leaving her feeling deeply unsettled.
But...
"The matter of Foreign Mana certainly caught me by surprise. I didn't expect it to be such a force, but Rorelai Arneet is indeed as unfathomable as I previously suspected. He seems to already be suspicious of us," Cris said with concern.
This time, Elis had to agree that Cris's earlier worries were valid.
That man was definitely not someone they could casually engage with, or something could be exposed at any moment.
This was something that absolutely could not be allowed to happen at this stage.
If Elis's or even Cris's identity were revealed, it would cause tremendous upheaval across the entire world.
This was a certainty.
Especially, they could not let someone like Rozen find out.
Otherwise, with his power and methods, who knows what kind of unexpected situations or obstacles might arise.
That person…
"He's undoubtedly our greatest enemy, bar none," Elis declared solemnly.
"An enemy…?" Cris closed her eyes and asked, "Have you already decided to treat him as an enemy?"
"Yes." Elis replied without hesitation, "That man is too dangerous; we can't let him be."
"Is this the right decision?" Cris asked cautiously. "Zeth probably doesn't want to make a move against him, does he?"
"Uh…" Elis was at a loss for words.
Indeed, not only did Zeth not want to act against Rozen, but he seemed to want to recruit him.
"Zeth sent you here with the purpose of interacting with Rorelai Arneet, gathering information on him, investigating him as much as possible, and ultimately trying to bring him into our fold, right?"
Cris laid out Zeth's plans clearly.
On the other hand, Elis clenched her teeth and stubbornly responded.
"Onii-sama didn't see what I saw; he doesn't understand how dangerous this man is. He'll definitely become Onii-sama's greatest obstacle. So, even if it goes against Onii-sama's wishes, I must find a way to deal with that man."
Elis was absolutely convinced of this.
This made Cris sigh silently.
(Still the same as always; the moment it involves anything related to Zeth, she becomes impulsive and loses control.)
This was Elis's greatest flaw, her most significant weakness.
She wasn't incapable of understanding things; in fact, she was quite skilled in strategy. However, within Elis was a naive, innocent, and fragile side that was easily overwhelmed.
Even Zeth had once evaluated his sister this way.
"She has the qualities to strive for my sake, but she also has a foolish side and often does things half-heartedly."
This was Elis's nature.
Now, once again, Elis was acting on her own accord due to her thoughts.
If Zeth were to find out about this, he surely wouldn't be pleased, right?
As for Rozen, Cris didn't believe he was someone who could be easily dealt with.
From the moment Rozen and Elis met until now, it was clear from their interactions that Elis was the one at a disadvantage.
Moreover, it was an absolute disadvantage, one she could not overturn.
Elis seemed to have realized this as well, which was why she felt anxious and impatient.
Elis, in her current state, could not deal with Rozen.
Just as Cris was thinking this, Elis suddenly remembered something and smiled.
"Speaking of which, we encountered something rather interesting in the Fifth Laboratory of the Medical Science Division."
This statement caused Cris to blink in surprise, then realize what Elis was hinting at.
"Don't tell me you're planning to…"
Cris's expression changed.
Elis, however, remained unconcerned.
"He seems to harbor some resentment towards our 'Mage King,'" Elis said with a sweet but extremely dangerous smile.
Upon hearing this, Cris knew exactly what Elis intended to do.
"Elis…"
Cris looked at Elis with a complex expression, wanting to say something, but couldn't find the words.
"Hehe…"
Elis just let out a soft, pleasant laugh.
But that laugh was chilling.
...
Meanwhile, Rozen had returned to the school.
By this time, the third period had already ended, and the fourth period was about to begin.
After the fourth period, the morning indoor classes would be over, and following the lunch break would be the afternoon practical classes.
With this in mind, Rozen hurriedly made his way back to the classroom.
Unfortunately, before he could reach the classroom, Rozen ran into a familiar face.
"Ah…"
At the corner of the staircase, a girl holding a book saw Rozen and couldn't help but make a sound.
"Hm…"
Rozen also stopped in his tracks, his face showing a somewhat wry smile.
At the place where the stairs turned, the two of them looked at each other, both feeling an indescribable awkwardness.
"Senpai…"
Yuri looked at Rozen, her expression showing a mix of emotions.
The two of them couldn't help but recall the previous incident, making the situation inevitably awkward and their emotions complex.
Especially Yuri, who, thinking about the words she had said back then and how she had irrationally stormed off, now felt completely unable to face Rozen.
At that moment...
"Ex… Excuse me! I'll be leaving now!"
Yuri suddenly bowed deeply to Rozen and then hurriedly turned to leave.
If it were in the past, Rozen probably wouldn't have known how to handle this situation.
But now, with a mindset honed over ten years, he was no longer the same as before.
So…
"Yuri." Rozen suddenly called out, "How about we go out for a walk again this evening?"
"Huh?" Yuri's body froze and she involuntarily turned back to look at Rozen.
The next moment, Yuri saw Rozen's steady gaze, one that did not avoid her at all, along with his calm smile.
Seeing this, Yuri's heart began to race.
Then…
"I… I understand…"
Yuri replied in a small voice.
"Then let's meet at the school gate like before."
Rozen grinned.
"Mm…"
Yuri nodded and then turned to leave.
This time, her steps seemed much lighter than before.
Rozen finally smiled and returned to the classroom.
The day's classes soon passed, and before long, evening arrived.
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