Chapter 60: Problems after problems(corrected)
While Zoe and Astraea were talking with Hestia, Bell walked back and forth near the entrance to the Loki Familia mansion. After days of hesitation, he finally had the courage to visit Mark, but by the time he arrived, his worries began to mount.
'What do I do? I want to visit him, but I don't know how to react if I meet her. '- Bell said, rubbing his head.
The reason for his insecurity was because he could meet Aiz and due to the shameful scene of the last time, he did not have the courage to face her.
"'Sigh' it's better if I come back."
"Do you need something?"
"!" -Hearing someone calling him from behind, Bell turned frightened, only to see Riveria looking at him strangely.
"M-Miss Riveria, N-no I just came to see how Mark was, b-but it's better if I don't disturb!" -Said Bell in a panic, as he tried to get away.
Since he had a crush on Aiz, with Eina's help, he had done some research on members of the Loki Familia, so he recognized her.
"There is no disturbance. Mark woke up yesterday, so he should be happy to see a friend." -Said Riveria while stopping him, even though she was thinking of something else:
'Aiz had told me that Mark and this boy knew each other, but I didn't think they were friends. '
Having no escape, Bell nodded and followed Riveria into Mark's resting room. On the way, he was too agitated to see the magnificent structure of the building, especially when he met other members of the Loki Familia.
After walking around for a while, they arrived at the door of Mark's room.
"Here is Mark's room, just knock. Well, it's time to go. " -Said Riveria.
"AH! Thank you for accompanying me. " - Bell said politely.
Nodding at his words, Riveria began to walk away, even though she had a mysterious smile on her lips.
'I hope now you can talk to him Aiz.' -She thought while holding back her laughter.
Seeing Riveria leave, Bell took a deep breath before knocking.
'knock Knock'
"Mark, this is Bell, can I come in?"
"Bell? Well, come in. " -Hearing Mark's voice, Bell entered the room.
The room was well lit, with many bookcases containing books and a desk with various papers, while the bed where Mark sat, who was reading, was quite large and was attached to the wall.
"So Bell, why are did you come?" -Mark asked as he continued reading.
"I just wanted to see how you were and thank you, without you it would have been very difficult to manage that situation, besides-!"
While Bell was talking, he approached Mark's bed, but when he saw who was sitting on the sofa in front of the bed, he froze.
"Right there is also Aiz." -Said Mark lazily.
"A... A" -Without words, Bell began to stammer as his face became redder and redder.
"I would like you not to scream, I have taken so many potions that my ears have become hypersensitive. So shut up." -Hearing Mark's cold voice, Bell quickly closed his mouth.
At that point the situation in the room became silent, you could only hear the sound of the pages that Mark was leafing through. Meanwhile, Bell's head was completely empty, the meeting with Aiz took away all his mental abilities, while Aiz wanted to talk to Bell, but she was afraid he might try to escape again.
'How socially embarrassing can these two be?' - Mark thought in exasperation, as he put down the book and stood up.
"Mark what are you doing, you have to stay in bed again." -Aiz told him seriously.
"And stay with you in this environment? No thanks. Besides, I'm already better, as long as I don't push myself, there are no problems. " -Said Mark, taking another book before leaving.
Now left alone, the situation became even more embarrassing, but it was Aiz who broke the silence.
"I wanted to apologize." - Aiz said sadly.
"EH! Why are you apologizing ?! " -Asked Bell agitated.
"Because of me, you ended up in that situation with the minotaur." -Said bowing.
"It's not your fault! Besides, it is I me who must apologize, you have already saved me twice, but I ran away every time. " -Said Bell as he bowed his head.
"I understand, then I'm happy." -Aiz said showing a smile, which made Bell blush.
"Right, I saw you on the 10th floor. You seem to be working hard. " -Aiz told him.
"Well I still have a long way to go, compared to how Mark fought, my style is full of mistakes." -Said Bell scratching his head.
"It's normal, Tione has often fought with him. Don't you have anyone to teach you how to fight? " - She asked curiously.
"Unfortunately no." - Bell sighed.
"...If you want I can teach you." -Aiz told him after thinking.
"For real! Thank you Miss Wallenstein. " - Bell happily said.
"Call me Aiz." -Aiz said with a little pout.
"Well, to call you by name directly..." -Bell said stiffly.
"Everyone calls me Aiz." - She said as she approached.
"O-Ok... A-Aiz." -Bell said embarrassed.
"Now it's okay." -Said Aiz smiling.
In the meantime they talked, Mark had gone into a quieter drawing-room to finish reading the book about the geography of this world. As he leveled up, the Guide had acquired new information and wanted to see how far it diverged from what was written in the books, but beyond some less information, it didn't differ much. Furthermore, there was a new problem to be solved.
(14% corruption)
Reading that value, Mark could only sigh. According to the Guide, he had lost the concept of fear and that was the reason he felt nothing in particular when they told him he could lose magic forever. In some aspects, not being afraid was an advantage, he could have given his all without problems, but there was also a disadvantage. Fear was a means that the body used to preserve itself, having lost it, he could easily destroy himself with his own hands.
The second problem with the corruption that he had noticed was that his point of view was changing. It became more and more difficult to express emotions and his mind became more logical and less emotional over time.
"Haaa I have leveled up and the problems have only increased. I still haven't been able to absorb the fragment and I also have the problem with magic. " - Mark said wearily.
Since he recovered, he noticed a big problem of his own, he relied too much on magic. His attack method was limited and not strong enough compared to magic, which was why he tended to overdo it, but he couldn't keep casting very powerful spells to kill tough enemies and end up half dead every time.
[Host can I give advice?]
'If you have something useful, speak freely.' - Mark said as he relaxed on the sofa.
[The problem of the host concerns the poor physical attack capacity compared to magic, but there is a way to solve it, although I don't know if you will be able to learn it.]
'Oh? Now I'm interested. '- Mark said seriously.
[The use of the aura.]
'You mean the one I can see?' - Mark asked confusedly.
[Exactly. The aura varies in name according to the world, it can be Chi, life energy, soul, and so on. A person's soul resides within the body, but as you have seen, it is not completely contained.]
Hearing the Guide's words, Mark nodded. He had seen many people and measured the size of their aura to determine their strength.
[The core of the soul is guarded inside the body and what comes out can be defined as its shadow. If you can manipulate that shadow, you can use it to cover the weapon, increasing its sharpness or hardness, or simply your defense.]
'Why didn't you tell me about a method like this before?' - Mark asked him, but he could already imagine the answer.
[First, because I learned this once you leveled up, the second is that your aura wasn't strong enough. You must also know that it is not something easy to learn, but you may have some hopes, as you have kept your consciousness in the realm of souls.]
'Do you mean the place where 'God' lives?'
[Exactly.]
'So what should I do to use the aura?'
[This is the problem, there is no method. You just have to be able to perceive and modify it.]
'Not a good start.' - Mark thought as he rubbed his chin.
"There you are finally, you know how long I've been looking for you?" -Tiona told him that she had just entered.
"Did something happen?" - Mark asked confused.
"I thought since you don't want a party for leveling up, to give you an equipment with the monster slain drop." - She said smiling.
When the news of Mark that he had leveled up spread around the mansion, Tiona had proposed to have a party. Of course, Mark refused as if his life depended on it, pouting her. But on hearing the new proposal he didn't mind, both his weapon and armor were destroyed, so he was still thinking about shopping.
"Okay, when would you like to go?"
"I wanted to wait for you to feel better, but since you can already move, how about going there now?" -She asked him with hope.
"Okay, I'll go get them." -Said Mark as he walked away.
After taking the drops, he left the villa with Tiona. As they walked together, Tiona talked to him constantly and asked him various questions and even if he tried to ignore her, she would bother him until he answered, besides she was happier than usual.
"Hehe looks like a date." - Tiona said with an embarrassed smile.
'Sigh' - Not even answering, Mark could only sigh, especially while seeing Tiona's aura.
'How did this girl develop a crush on me? We hardly speak. '-Mark thought as he rubbed his head.
Since regaining consciousness, he had noticed that Tiona was behaving strangely and when he checked her aura, he noticed that she felt affection for him. He initially thought it was his imagination, but today he confirmed it, but didn't understand how that was possible.
What Mark didn't understand was Tiona's tastes. The girl had grown up in a difficult environment and the only time she was happy was when she was reading the story about heroes. As a child, she thought that a hero would save her from that hell, but no one ever came to her, so she decided that she would be her own hero. But watching Mark's fight, her heart moved, because he looked very similar to the heroes of fairy tales but much more realistic.
Having the motivation to fight even if the situation seems impossible and having the pride of not giving in to an enemy much stronger than him, made her feel something she had never experienced. She wondered if Mark would do the same thing to save her.
Even though Tiona had that thought, she still didn't realize she had a crush on him, and that's why Mark ignored her, he didn't want to create false hopes for her. With the mentality of the amazons, he was afraid that if he refused her right away, she would take it as a challenge to conquer him, making it more difficult for him, so he just hoped that the crush would pass away.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone