Chapter 20: Lyra Undergoes Mana Core Test
This figure began strolling towards Landria's position.
"What are you doing here?" Landria voiced out with a look of displeasure as the feminine figure became clearer in his line of sight.
"I didn't mean to startle you," Lyra voiced out as she paused a few steps away.
"I just... happened to be around and I spotted you crying," She said while looking towards the left trying to hide her concerned looks.
"Crying? I wasn't crying," Landria stated with a strong tone.
"You are," Lyra looked down at him before responding.
"I am not,"
"But you are,"
"Did you come here to annoy me once again?" Landria inquired with an annoyed tone.
"...You..." Lyra's beautiful lips pouted in anger as she walked forward.
Landria left eyebrow raised a little as he wondered what she was up to.
shrreehh~
Lyra suddenly knelt in front of him and stretched out her hands. In her right hand was a small piece of clothing.
Holding onto Landria's face with her left hand, she cleaned his cheeks with her right hand and that was when Landria felt it.
There were tears on his face but he had been so lost in his world of sad thoughts and memories that he had no idea when the tears began rolling down.
Underneath the dark sky, his face turned a shade of red as Lyra's scent drifted into his nostrils while she wiped his face gently.
Her lips were still pouted like she was annoyed and didn't care but her actions portrayed the opposite.
"...Th...ank you," Landria said with a low tone after Lyra finished cleaning the tears off his face.
"Hmph, it's nothing," Lyra folded her arms and sat beside him quietly while still pouting her lips.
Both their backs were rested against the tree as silence reigned between them for many seconds.
Landria stared at the sky in silence as did Lyra. The atmosphere felt a little awkward but Landria didn't mind. After what had just happened, all the grudge he bore against Lyra seemed to have just dissipated.
Lyra's family was down there with the neighbors chatting and eating together. They had arrived with Laura earlier on since her parents were friends with Laura.
She excused herself after some time and asked Viktor where she could find Landria.
It turned out this wasn't a new occurrence as Viktor was instantly able to point out Landria's possible location.
Landria would usually come here to be alone at this time of night. Even if they managed to keep him in their midst for some time to have fun and chat with the neighbors, he would still find a way to sneak out of their midst.
Laura knew this as well and had told the others to give him space when they asked why he was always like that.
Lyra had a conflict going on within her mind, 'Why were there tears on his face? Why was he looking so sad?'
A part of her made her feel like asking Landria if he was okay but she also felt like she should mind her business since that might be too intruding.
After a few more minutes of internal conflict, she finally decided to speak.
"Are you..." Before she could complete her sentence, Landria threw a question at her.
"Do you still want to learn magic?"
"...Yes but... are you o..." Lyra was unable to complete her sentence before Landria interrupted once more.
"Good. Tell me why you want to learn it?" He proceeded to ask.
At this point, Lyra swallowed the words she wanted to say earlier and decided to answer Landria.
"...My parents don't want me to learn magic...They even warned me to stay away from you," She revealed.
"Hmm? Why?" A look of confusion appeared on Landria's face as he asked.
"They didn't tell me why but I suspect they're afraid I'll leave them one day and go to the bigger cities to capitalize on it. They even forbade me from using magic... All those times I watched you from afar was because I wanted to meet you and ask for guidance but I was afraid," Lyra explained.
Landria had an expression of understanding as he heard that. Turns out Lyra didn't wish to stalk him on purpose, she was just too scared to take a step even though she was interested in knowing more about magic.
This also proved that her parents were simple-minded commoners.
They were more concerned with keeping their daughter with them instead of letting her become a mage which would lead to a better standard of living for them as being a mage came with so many potential opportunities for riches.
"So why do you want to learn it regardless of your parents' desire for you to remain a normal commoner?" Landria asked once more.
"...I don't know... The possibilities excite me... being able to wave a finger and conjure things out of mid-air... I don't want to be normal, I want to do things normal people consider impossible like how you defeated the entire group of Usurpers all by yourself," Lyra voiced out with an expression of interest as she mentioned all this.
Landria heard this and thought to himself, 'Where I come from it's normal to have magic and abnormal to not... excelling at it is a different case altogether,'
"I don't want to be that weak little girl that can't do anything for anyone... At the very least I should be able to help when next the Usurpers visit," Lyra added.
Landria was satisfied with the response he had heard so far. If the possibilities of magic didn't excite a mage then their normal mindset would psychologically hinder them from progressing in the future.
A mage was always supposed to be interested in improving and becoming more adept in the magical arts.
Landria stood to his feet at this point, "I will teach you what I know but first we have to determine what type of mana core you have," He voiced out.
Lyra had an excited look on her face after hearing that and stood to her feet as well.
"What do we have to do?" She asked.
"Since we don't have a Carypslo gem here which would have made things easier, we will have to do things the old-fashioned way," Landria replied.
"The old-fashioned way?"
"Follow me,"
Landria turned around and started moving towards the entrance of the Velves forest. Vera turned around to follow him but paused after a few steps to look back at the neighborhood area for an instant. She resumed walking and increased her pace to catch up with Landria up ahead.
Fwwhiii~
A palm-sized flame lit up on Landria's index fingertip as he moved deeper into the dark Velves forest while Vera followed behind him.
-
Shrrrhh~ Shrrrhhh~ Shrrrhh~
The sound of scribbling on a hard surface echoed through the night in a cleared space surrounded by trees.
After a few more seconds the scribbling sounds stopped.
"All done, go stand in the middle," Landria said as he stepped away from the magic circle he had just scribbled on the ground.
Lyra stared at the circle which had some weird arcs drawn in the middle with unknown characters placed at four opposite points. She had no idea what she was staring at here but no one had to tell her before she knew it was magic related.
She did as she was told and proceeded to step in the middle of the circle drawn.
Landria stretched out his right hand at this point as mana began to gather towards this area from across the surroundings.
"Thru, Bluhr, Dhii, Karshl, Emirl, Tuw, Salr, Fhir..." He began narrating incomprehensible words as he walked around the magic circle with his right hand outstretched.
Fwwwwhiiiii~
Mild winds blew across the vicinity as the circle on the ground suddenly lit up with a fluorescent glow. It startled Lyra a little but she stood firmly in place not wanting to disrupt the process.
The circle was getting brighter and brighter and the wind blowing across the place became even more intense as Landria continued to chant these incomprehensible words.
A few moments later...
Trrriiinnnnng~
The magic circle shot a bright pillar of light towards the sky and began to change color.
In the next instant, the pillar of light that shot into the sky had become a very dark red one.
So dark it disturbed the environment and caused the beasts in the forest to turn unstable, feeling an unknown sense of pressure.
"It's gloom..." Landria voiced out with a look of disbelief.
"Your mana core... Its shade is a gloom scarlet..."
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone