Chapter 96: A Delicate Chill

After a long, lingering stretch of silence, Lucian finally spoke again, telling them to absorb the monster cores—from the pile lying on the floor.

He had brought out all these monster cores for that very reason, wanting them to grow as strong as possible during this time, as quickly as they could.

He didn’t know if the boost in their strength would be enough for them to protect themselves from the monsters, but he’d just have to go along with it.

Especially now, when he couldn’t do much himself.

With his current condition, he couldn’t move too much, at least not if he recklessly wanted his wounds to reopen, something he wasn’t fond of currently happening.

The moment his words settled in their heads, both Seraphina’s and Lia’s expressions shifted.

They didn’t like this—not at all.

Like how he was throwing his life away, how he was right now—injured, worn down, his body carrying battle marks that should’ve broken him—wounds that would take multiple weeks, or maybe even longer to heal.

And on top of that, they didn’t like the fact that they were the only ones benefiting from his sacrifices.

They were the only ones who were slowly getting stronger… and that was because of the absorption of the monster cores, while he was paying the price.

Every core on the floor was proof of it.

Proof of what he had done, of what he had endured.

And now, he expected them to take that, to use it to grow stronger.

It didn’t sit right with either of them.

But of course… what could they do?

Lucian was stubborn, terrifyingly so.

Especially when it came to them, to their safety.

They had just seen a live example of his insanity over them, his obsession over their safety, and only theirs.

They had seen how far he’d go, just for the sake of not losing them.

That realisation left no room for resistance.

Lia frowned, turning her head toward Seraphina, silently urging her to say something against it.

Seraphina glanced at her, then gave a brief nod.

The message was clear.

Do as he says.

Lia sighed before nodding reluctantly.

Lucian could read their exchange through their actions alone, despite their attempt to keep it subtle.

Still, he didn’t interfere, nor did he say anything.

Finally, they complied.

Silently, reluctantly.

There were exactly 30 F rank monster cores resting on the ground, including an E rank core.

The E rank one stood out, as it was the largest among the others, and lighter in colour.

Seraphina’s gaze lingered on it for a small moment before she picked it up and gave it to Lia without any hesitation.

She didn’t know how long it would take Lia, but she didn’t feel very good about keeping the best thing for herself.

Not again.

Lia had already given the previous one to her, so this time she decided to keep it even.

Lia hesitated for a moment as she took the core from her hands.

Soon, they began,

One by one, they started slowly absorbing the monster cores.

Lucian, meanwhile, was forced to rest during this time after both of them insisted again and again—that he was not to move unnecessarily, not to strain himself, and not to even think about doing anything that could worsen his condition.

Slowly, time passed.

An entire day slipped by like that—somewhat dull, mundane… with a quiet, growing chaos stirring within one of them—someone who was growing frustrated and more weird as the day went on.

***

The next day arrived quietly.

Lucian hadn’t gone outside during the night again, for of course, very obvious reasons.

His body wouldn’t allow it, and neither would the women, who had been watching his small movements, like hawks who would tear him apart if he moved recklessly.

Both Lia and Seraphina had completely absorbed the cores the previous day.

Because none of them had anything to do, with nothing else to occupy their time.

The hours passed like this, with Lucian recovering—sitting in one place, allowing his body to rest and heal.

Meanwhile, as he silently observed their progress, both women spent most of their time absorbing the cores.

Lia, in particular, struggled, taking a couple of hours to absorb all of them, while it took her over forty minutes just to fully absorb the E-rank core.

Her entire body strained to take in the mana from it—like something within her was resisting, her veins pushing beyond what they could endure.

But she didn’t give up.

Again and again, she tried, and after relentless attempts, she finally succeeded, and the dark grey hue of the core faded until it turned completely colorless.

And just like that—

It was done, though it took far more out of her than she had expected.

So now—

The three of them were sitting on the floor together, in the middle of the basement.

Both Lia and Lucian were looking at Seraphina.

She had her eyes closed, and a small frown appeared on her face after every few seconds, like ripples of discomfort passing through her expression as she focused on something unseen.

It looked like she was concentrating on something… something difficult.

Lucian’s gaze lingered on her, his eyes calm, but anyone who knew him could see the tension behind that controlled expression.

He didn’t know if what she was trying to do would work, didn’t know what would happen to her if it failed.

And that uncertainty was gnawing at him.

Yet, he couldn’t do anything but trust her.

Trust that she knew what she was doing, trust that she wouldn’t push herself too far, while hoping everything would go fine.

A few minutes passed, making him even more worried.

Even Lia frowned, both confused and concerned.

Then—

It happened.

Slowly, the temperature in the room began to drop.

At first, it was subtle, almost unnoticeable, so much so that it could’ve been dismissed as imagination.

Lucian felt it first, as he had been monitoring every change in the mana—both within her body and in the surrounding air.

And with his heightened perception, it was even faster to notice the small change.

The air around them grew colder, brushing through their skin with an unfamiliar chill.

Coldness radiated from Seraphina’s body, a quiet aura of cold that spread outward in delicate waves.

Her lips parted slightly, forming a faint, visible mist as she exhaled, like ghostly breath that lingered for a moment before dissolving into the air.

Lia’s eyes widened in awe.

‘Holy shit!’ she screamed in her mind, shocked by the unbelievable sight before her.

Last time, when Seraphina had awakened, she hadn’t noticed anything like this.

She hadn’t noticed the chill in the air before—partly because she had been some distance from her, and partly because Seraphina’s power had only flared briefly at the moment of her awakening.

But now, she could clearly feel it.

The chill brushed against her skin, a coldness that felt like the first few nights of winter.

Seraphina’s expression tightened further, her faint frown deepening as her concentration intensified, pushing herself into whatever state she had reached.

Then, slowly, she removed her hand from her lap, raising it into the air with a deliberate motion.

Lucian tilted his head, both confused and curious at her sudden action.

It felt like she was trying to do something, her entire being narrowing down into the single act she was trying to accomplish.

Still, he watched closely.

Lia remained silent as well, noticing how intensely Seraphina was concentrating, her breath held unconsciously as she waited for something to happen.

And it did happen.

The coldness slowly began to gather, no longer spreading unevenly—concentrating into her hands, like invisible threads being pulled together, converging into a single point.

Toward her hand—

It began to turn pale, almost white.

Lucian frowned, his fist clenching with unease.

But then he noticed something.

The air around her seemed to tighten, the chill growing denser, sharper.

The mana.

It wasn’t just moving.

It was being guided, pulled toward her fingers, toward her palms, toward her hand.

Over her pale, white hand, a thin layer of ice began to form over her fingers, creeping along her skin like delicate veins of crystal.

The ice looked fragile—almost too delicate, as if it were barely holding itself together.

It seemed as though it would shatter at the slightest touch, like glass too thin to withstand even the gentlest pressure.

But—

Despite all that, it was real, something created entirely on her own, through nothing but her own will, through her control over the mana she had barely begun to understand.

Something that should have only existed in games… in novels and in imagination.

Lia’s eyes widened even more as her astonishment skyrocketed.

“This…” she mumbled in a low voice, completely baffled by the scene before her.

Because she was seeing it, and that too, right in front of her, with her very own eyes.

When Seraphina had said that she wanted to try using her ice affinity—

When she said she thought she could do it—

Lia couldn’t help but feel… ridiculous about it.

Not because she thought Seraphina was joking, but because the situation itself felt like a cruel joke to her.𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

A quiet ridicule directed at herself.

Here she was, taking hours to absorb the cores, with each moment a struggle to do it properly.

And then there was Seraphina.

Lucian’s mother, who not only took less than five minutes to absorb the cores but also seemed to have learned to use her ice affinity.

Lia’s fingers clenched at her sides as she bit her lip, trying to suppress the surge of jealousy rising within her.

She had tried it too, to connect to her affinity.

To sense it, in hopes of reaching it, in manifesting it.

But whenever she tried, she failed miserably.

Nothing responded.

She could feel her affinity… at least somewhat, though she didn’t know how to describe that feeling in words.

But that was it.

Just knowing it was there… meant nothing.

If she couldn’t reach it—

If she couldn’t touch it—

If she couldn’t bring it into reality—

What was even the point then?

Give me more power stones.

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Thank you for reading.