The next time he saw Iz, that almost visible, oppressive malice was gone from him.
Kumironi had clearly chosen the right moment.
She stepped forward at once and explained gently, "What Iz used on you back then was most likely Malice Aura."
"That spell releases an intense wave of hostility. It immediately provokes vigilance, hatred—even fear—from any target in the vicinity."
"Malice can drive away timid monsters. It can also be used… as part of a trial."
"Many academies use Malice Aura during training to heighten the sense of danger in examinations."
"But if someone knows about it beforehand, the effect is greatly reduced. If you already know the other party doesn't truly intend to harm you, the psychological impact naturally weakens."
Now that Kanzaki Rei was seeing Iz Palut again, he realized he didn't feel the same visceral disgust as before.
There was still a trace of guilt on Iz's face.
"I'm sorry," Iz said quietly. "Given the circumstances at the time, I couldn't explain too much. If I had, it wouldn't have worked."
"To learn Mana Void, one of the conditions is that you must exhaust your mana completely under a genuine life-and-death threat."
"Additionally, I needed to personally arrange a corresponding ritual."
Rei felt the tension in his chest ease—just slightly.
The wariness hadn't vanished.
But at least from the current situation, there was a strong possibility they were telling the truth.
He had been unconscious for so long…
Iz had had countless opportunities to kill him.
Even if he didn't kill him—
After something like that, there would've been no reason to bring him back.
Should he trust him?
Rei was genuinely conflicted.
He had nearly died. To pretend nothing had happened would be far too magnanimous.
But as he felt the steady rotation of 「Mana Void」 within his body—
It was true. Just as Iz had said, he had broken past his mana limit.
And he really had learned 「Mana Void」.
If everything Iz said was true, and Rei simply turned away with a cold face after receiving such a gift—
Wouldn't that be heartless?
But if he chose to trust him again so easily…
Wasn't that naïve? Reckless, even?
Trusting someone who had pushed him to the brink of death?
Right and wrong wrestled violently inside Rei's heart.
He remembered the adventurers' enthusiasm toward Iz.
He remembered the apprentices' earnest excitement when asking him questions about magic.
He remembered Kumironi's urgency when she appeared in the dungeon to rescue him.
Concern. Gentleness.
Had all of that been an act?
He hadn't died.
He had been brought back.
Even though the shadow of death still flickered in his memory—
Rei made his decision.
In the end, he let out a quiet sigh.
"Iz," he said softly, "I believe you."
Iz was far stronger than him.
Yet when he heard that answer, he looked as if a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders. His smile returned.
"Thank you."
Iz had no idea how difficult that decision had been.
Rei had never heard of Iz Palut's reputation in this world.
He hadn't heard the household legends or heroic tales.
He was just a transmigrator who had arrived in this world less than three days ago, almost completely ignorant of everything here.
All he knew was that someone he had trusted had pushed him into a death trap.
And now—
He was choosing to rebuild trust with someone he had known for less than three days.
That was far more difficult than it would have been for those who already knew Iz's legend.
…
Rei steadied himself and listened carefully as Iz explained the full sequence of events.
The plan to push him into a life-and-death situation had been designed the night before.
The dungeon had been changed—from the Tier-2 Darkwood Forest to the Tier-2 Shadow Cavern.
But whichever dungeon it had been, the result would have been the same.
The strength of the final dungeon lord would be personally controlled by Iz.
Through the spell 「Monster Manipulation」, he could force monsters to attack at specific moments.
Through 「Monster Frenzy」, he could push them beyond their original limits.
The end result—
Rei would face repeated, hair's-breadth brushes with death.
But in truth, the threat had never been real.
Every bit of it had been orchestrated by Iz.
If Rei had failed to evade an attack, Iz would have intervened.
As long as Rei managed to dodge, Iz would engineer razor-thin, life-on-the-line scenarios.
Listening to Iz calmly describe everything he had planned—
Rei's expression became complicated.
Iz held a cup of hot tea in both hands.
"Your performance was truly astonishing."
"Even after the Dark Serpent was driven into Frenzy, you still suppressed it. You nearly killed it."
Rei lowered his head, recalling the scene.
"At the time… I was just thinking about how to survive."
A shadow crossed Iz's face.
"I'm sorry…"
"Perhaps I should have chosen a gentler method."
Rei shook his head.
"No… Iz."
"I said I believe you."
"At least this time, I'll trust you. After all, you were the ones who brought me out of that place in the beginning."
The lingering fear hadn't disappeared. The psychological scar wouldn't fade so easily.
But Rei had chosen to trust this mage again.
It wasn't that he didn't value his life.
It was because of Iz's character—what he had demonstrated, the way he carried himself, the companions at his side…
And because within him, 「Mana Void」 was still steadily turning.
All of that together convinced Rei that Iz deserved a second chance.
"Tell me about Mana Void, Iz," Rei said with a crooked grin.
Iz Palut smiled as well, relief evident in his eyes.
"Of course."
…
「Mana Void (LV: 100) (Forbidden)」— Eternal Rotation— Mana sourced from the Void— All-Attribute Mana— Mana Absorption Resistance— Extremely Rapid Mana Regeneration— Continuous Mana Growth
Iz began, "In this world, only two people have mastered Mana Void."
"One is me."
Rei replied calmly, "The other is me."
Iz nodded.
Rei asked, "And the method of breakthrough…?"
Iz answered, "It exists only in theory. But I'm ninety-nine percent certain of it."
Rei's lips twitched.
So he had been the first test subject.
Iz… I just restored my trust in you.
Though that thought flickered in his mind, Rei tilted his head and asked,
"Then why has no one besides you mastered it?"
"You said there were two others who learned Mana Tide, didn't you?"
His tone was filled with curiosity.
Iz replied, "Level restrictions."
"They both advanced beyond Level 1 Mage."
"To break through the mana limit and learn Mana Void, you must still be a Level 1 Mage."
"And there's another condition: Mana Tide must reach its maximum proficiency."
Maximum.
Level 100?
One of the effects of 「Divine · Proficiency Evolution」 was that Rei could see proficiency progress.
Which meant ordinary people couldn't see exact proficiency values.
They could only feel gradual improvement.
Though there were probably testing methods, Rei guessed silently.
Iz continued, "The moment you mastered Mana Tide, I could already sense it. With your talent, you'd reach the limit of proficiency quickly."
"You're the most likely mage I've ever seen—besides myself—to learn Mana Void."
"If you didn't learn it at Level 1, you would never have another chance."
Rei nodded slowly.
Now that he understood the full context, he could accept the "trial" Iz had arranged.
Even if it had left psychological scars.
"Mana Void doesn't just increase your maximum mana capacity," Iz said.
"It also allows you to regenerate mana in any environment."
Iz raised his hand lightly.
Buzz—
The familiar sensation spread outward.
With Rei at the center, all ambient elements within a one-kilometer radius vanished instantly.
The area became a Mana Dead Zone—a region where mana could not be restored.
Iz spoke calmly.
"Try consuming mana."
Rei raised his hand. An icicle condensed beside him.
He increased the output.
He consumed 0.2% of his mana.
At his current capacity, that 0.2% was equivalent to 14% of the mana he had during his battle with the giant serpent.
Yet the instant the mana was consumed—
It was replenished immediately.
The recovery was completely unaffected by the absence of external elements.
No.
More accurately—
His mana no longer came from external elemental replenishment.
It came from the Void within his body.