440: Left with No Choice

Left with No Choice

As Lucius said the term 'Mana Tenacity Cores', both Aurus and Horell approached that term with confusion. However, once Melzarin heard that term, he could not help but inwardly let out a sigh as he stared at the woman far behind Lucius, who watched the four of them converse without a care for the world.0

'He still hasn't moved on…' Now that Melzarin knew the truth, Melzarin now looked at everything Lucius did from a different perspective. Nevertheless, as he was the closest person to Lucius out of the other four, he was going to try his best to make sure it stayed that way.

Oblivious to Melzarin's thoughts, Lucius looked at Aurus and Horell and explained. "Mana Tenacity Cores are cores that amplify the tenacity aspect of mana, the aspect that dictates the rigidity of the mana. Well, let me put it this way. Imagine mana as a piece of rope. Mana Tenacity Cores increase the thickness of the rope, which allows it to withstand more strain before breaking."

"In reality, when the tenacity of mana is amplified, one could do more things at once with the same amount of mana," he concluded.

"Is there a specific reason as to why you need it, Sir Lucius?" Aurus asked in response, taking a quick glance at the woman near the temple's entrance.

Hearing that, Lucius wryly smiled as he scratched his head. "Let's just say that I'm going to need a couple Mana Tenacity Cores for a few experiments of mine. With that, I went with the number 5 so I would have enough to do the experiment and have a bit more as backup."

"Speaking of which…" he added. "There are various levels to Mana Tenacity Cores, Grade 1 being the lowest and Grade 9 being the highest. Although what I need are Grade 4 Mana Tenacity Cores at the very least to start my experiment, as long as you give me five Grade 2 Mana Tenacity Cores, I'll modify your Existence Transition technique and keep my word of owing you a favor."

"Does that sound like a deal?" Lucius extended his hand out after that.

Looking at the hand for a bit, Aurus thought about how he would be able to procure such things. Sure, he had the money to buy them, but he had no clue where to get them. Plus, from how Lucius made it seem, Mana Tenacity Cores were incredibly rare. 'I hope Eleanor and the others know where to get Mana Tenacity Cores…'

Scratching his head, he went ahead and extended his other arm as he shook hands with Lucius. With a wry smile, he told him, "We'll try our best to get them. However, what if we end up not finding any?"

"Don't worry. There are other items you can help me procure," said Lucius in response with a light smile.

With that, Aurus, Horell, and Melzarin looked each other before nodding in unison, thinking that since there was nothing else they could do to have Lucius modify the technique, they might as well leave.

Thus, they bade farewell to the two, with Melzarin giving Lucius and the woman behind him a slightly forlorn look. However, that only lasted for a brief second before he turned around and enveloped the two with his energy, heading further and further away from the temple.

As he looked at their gradually fleeting silhouettes, Lucius' face, which was all smiles, slowly became more and more solemn as he eventually let out a sigh. Turning around to head back to the temple, he went up to the woman and kissed her on the forehead as memories of the past surged into his mind. 'Just a little bit more… wait just for a bit more, Silvia.'

'I promise that until I breathe my last, I'll do everything in my power to bring you back.'

…

Back at the plains near the Everdark Mountains, Aurus and the others could not help but let out a sigh.

"So, he wants to gather Mana Tenacity Cores if we want him to modify the Existence Transition technique to what the extent want," Aurus said with a light frown. "Got any ideas as to where we could procure them, Melzarin?"

"As far as I know, they're a rare commodity these days." Melzarin shook his head. "They used to be incredibly cheap back in the past, but after a certain event, the demand outweighed the supply. Because of that, the price of a single Mana Tenacity Core at Grade 1 went up to the hundreds of thousands. Much less to say about those at Grade 2 and above."

"By hundreds of thousands, Sir Melzarin, do you mean gold coins, or mana stones?" Horell could not help but ask, focusing on that specific part of his statement.

"Gold coins," Melzarin clarified. "Though, if you used mana stones to buy them, you'll eventually need hundreds of thousands as well."

Listening to their conversation, Aurus could not help but scratch his head as he sent a hint of his energy towards the Spirit Contracts he made with the other four. Once the other four established a connection with him through their respective contracts, he went ahead and connected them all together as he told Horell and Melzarin to join in with their own energy.

"So, Aurus. Update on the modified Existence Transition technique situation?" Eleanor was the first one to ask.

"Well, we've arrived at the Everdark Mountains and met up with Lucius a while ago," Aurus said, inwardly letting out a light sigh. "Unfortunately, he told us that he'll only modify the technique in exchange for a few certain items."

"What kind of items is he requesting?" asked Rosalia, to which Melzarin replied, "Mana Tenacity Cores. He wanted Grade 4 cores, but he told them that he'd also accept cores as low as Grade 2."

"And that brings us to our current dilemma," Aurus said after Melzarin was done talking. "Do any of you guys know where we could get Mana Tenacity Cores? Of course, money is not an issue… yet."

"Hmm…" Surprisingly, Helios was the first to answer. "I've heard that the three kingdoms have their own supply of Mana Tenacity Cores, though I'll have to double check that with my informants."

"Since I'm close to the empire, I could probably take a look there. Pretty sure some of the mage guilds there have a couple Mana Tenacity Cores lying around," Rosalia said her piece soon after.

"While you two go do that, Eleanor and I might just head to Mercuria Continent and see if they have Mana Tenacity Cores for sale. Consider our search the last resort," Felix said after that, to which Eleanor made a sound in agreement.

"How long would you guys take to give me an update?" Aurus asked once they were done talking.

"A couple weeks, give or take," Helios said in response, with Rosalia following soon after. "Yeah, around the same time as Helios."

"Since we're heading to another continent, it'll take us a month at the earliest to give you an update," Eleanor said in response.

"I see, I see." Hearing that, Aurus went silent before nodding. "Alright, thanks for me helping out again, guys. I'll try my best to make sure you guys get something in exchange. After all, you four are doing something me a big favor."

After a bit more banter, the connection between them was dispelled, leaving the three back on their own as they looked at each other in silence.

"I guess we'll have to wait until they give us an update," Horell said as a way to break the silence, yet for some reason, something about Horell's words slightly irked Aurus. Taking in a deep breath to calm himself down, he replied, "Unfortunately, we can't really wait for that long. The clock is ticking. I have to join the war for the throne that happens about half a year from now."

"The success of this plan all hinges on whether or not we could get the Existence Transition technique modified in time or not," he added, prompting him to go silent for a bit before eventually coming to a decision. Lightly sighing, Aurus looked at the two and told them, "I'll be heading somewhere for a while."

"Where to?" Melzarin asked in response.

"The Origin Pantheon," Aurus said, communicating with the system through his mind. "I don't know if any of the people there know where I could get some Mana Tenacity Cores to complete the exchange, but their information network definitely spans a wider range compared to you five. Though, I didn't mean that in a rude way."

"Don't worry. None taken." Melzarin nodded. "When are you heading out, though?"

"Right now." Just as Aurus said that, his figure disappeared in front of the two, much to the surprise of Melzarin.

"Where did he go?!" he cried out, wondering if he saw just now was an illusion of sorts.

Hearing that, Horell placed his hand on Melzarin's shoulder. "To the Origin Pantheon. Please calm down, Sir Melzarin."

"Calm? How could I be calm if I didn't know Aurus had the ability to disappear in front of my sight?" Melzarin could not help but say in response.

"Well… you'll get used to it," was the only advice Horell could offer.

"…"

"…"

"So… how long is he gonna take before he comes back?"

"…he'll probably be out for a while."

"…I see."

"…"

"…"

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