บท 228: Forming a pseudo-Core

In Elizabeth's quarters in Castle Reinhard, the poor girl was still unconscious. Around one month passed since the Lannisail explosion. During this time, the First Shadow of the Whispering Shadow died, and the last remnants of this once formidable organization seemed to be falling apart. The Alzar Kingdom announced their victory in a triumphant tone and decided the trial for the captured criminals to be within a month. The Lannisail Household was also held accountable due to their patriarch, Lord Wenmord Lannisail, being exposed as the Second Shadow. They would join the others on trial. Since the Whispering Shadow committed a truly unimaginable number of atrocities, many of which were directed to commonfolk, people were loudly cheering for their executions. All attention was directed away from the seemingly absent Princess Elizabeth, a goal that Queen Bethnal achieved.

A few maids were cleaning up Elizabeth's room as they did every day. They moved with practiced hands, expertly showing the discipline of royal maids. Not a single sound was made as they shuffled along. One of them gave Elizabeth a short but pitiful gaze when a strange breeze formed. The maid felt a chill form on their skin and immediately grew uncomfortable. A second later though, she admonished herself for feeling insecure. This was Castle Reinhard, the safest place in the Alzar Kingdom! Furthermore, this was the personal quarters of the future heir apparent! Its security was second only to Queen Bethnal's, and just barely. There were Royal Guards and Grand Knights of the Realm swarming the halls. The thought that something could bypass all that was silly. Soon the maids left, missing that a new bloodstain appeared on Elizabeth's lip.

Inside Elizabeth's Core, the girl spurted out a mouthful of blood as her expression paled. Although this was an avatar created by Elizabeth's consciousness, that did not mean it was invulnerable. She was bruised and bleeding all over, as if she received the wounds on her actual body. Her hands were shaking and scorched, but she did not scream or cry. There was only some surprise on her face. It was unknown how many times this happened already for her to become like this. Training the tempering technique was that dangerous!

"This time, you were too hasty. Rest and try again later," the spirit said.

Elizabeth sighed, conjured a chair, and sat down. This immaterial body might not tire like a physical one, but the mental fatigue built up. In this world which lacked day or night, she had no idea how long she trained. It might have been a day, a month, or even years… It was truly a terrifying concept to imagine. The only sign of time passing was the degrading Core around her. Every now and then, a shard of this world would crumble and disappear. And with it, Elizabeth could feel a tiny bit of her dying. It was definitely growing more painful as she sensed the looming crisis. Without wasting any more time, she stood up and tried again.

Drawing Magic Energy into her Channels, she tracked the flow of energy precisely and circulated it around. Through her training, she managed to understand her body's condition and the extent of the backlash much better. Although most of her Channels were damaged, not all of them were ruined. If that were to happen, then she would be crippled, unable to use magic ever again! The Magic Energy continued to circulate through the unblocked Channels according to the pathway Elizabeth intended and merged in a main riverway. Like a river flowing, if the Core was likened to a dam holding a lake, then the Channels could be further divided into main riverways, then minor, then distributaries before entering the outside world. Right now, an enormous pool of Magic Energy was accumulating just before her Core in an undamaged main passage.

Her brow was drenched in sweat. It was not easy to direct every tiny strand of energy towards the same place. This was the key behind the tempering technique, the creation of a so-called pseudo-Core! What was a Core? On the surface was Magic Energy which all Arcanists used as fuel for their spells. Below that though, there was World Energy. Some called it a soul, others called it life essence. Nevertheless, this World Energy sustains the person. That was why when Arcanists overexerted themselves, like Freon did, they would result in life-threatening situations. It was precisely because of this duality between Magic and World Energy that a Core would be formed. As for this tempering technique, Elizabeth was concentrating a large excess of Magic Energy in the main passageways, but it would dissipate eventually, hence pseudo-Core.

The girl maintained her peak concentration and slowly added more and more Magic Energy. It was like filling a cup of water. Drop by drop, the water level rose dangerously high. The pressure on her body was intensifying as she bit her lip. The Channels were not designed for such high capacity, so her body was instinctively trying to purge it. However, she fought the temptation back fiercely and continued! The Magic Energy built up from Low Gaseous Fog into the Medium Core equivalent. Just as she was about to touch the High level, the spirit shouted. Elizabeth snapped out of her reverie and instantly chaotic Magic Energy surged out like a dam bursting.

But with practiced motions, Elizabeth willed the flow in a specific direction through her Channels. Although it was painful, she preserved. In the real world, a strange breeze whipped through Elizabeth's room. This was the cause of the mysterious feeling the maid experienced! Since the Magic Energy contained no will, it dissipated harmlessly back into the environment as World Energy. Yet, it was not without consequence. Elizabeth scanned herself with her Magic Perception, a small grin showing. As expected, her Channel width grew! This was the benefit behind the tempering technique. It adjusted the Channels to accommodate a larger instantaneous explosion of Magic Energy! Resolving her Core's degradation was a mere side effect. The tempering technique allowed her to fuel some truly fearsome spells!

"You're making good progress," the spirit interrupted. "But it's not good enough. Remember, the deadline for your Core is closing in. You'll need to accumulate enough Magic Energy equivalent to High Gaseous Fog. You'll need to train ever harder."

"Yes, I understand," Elizabeth said grimly. She did not forget her goal. Her Core was slated to rupture within a few days. If she failed at containing the energy within, then she would die!

The spirit fell into contemplation. Honestly speaking, Elizabeth's progress was astounding! One had to keep track of hundreds of Magic Energy strands as they weaved their way through the Channels. Then, the person had to consciously force them to pool into a designated spot. It was as hard as it sounded. People would struggle to multitask so aggressively, especially if there was a lot of pain involved! Yet, Elizabeth succeeded. Her Magic Perception had reached a terrifying level of refinement! The girl might not notice it, but the spirit was aware. Should she fully master this tempering technique, Elizabeth could easily grow into becoming one of the strongest humans!

Well, that is assuming she survives this current ordeal, the spirit thought as Elizabeth tried again.