The door of the Count's room opened from the inside.
The man who opened it looked like a butler. He was older, with neatly combed gray hair and a straight posture. Dressed in a clean black suit with white gloves.
The butler gestured toward him to enter.
Adolin entered the room and looked around.
A large bed stood at the center. On it lay a sickly, middle-aged man.
"The Count?" Adolin said.
"Yes," Eduard said from behind him. "Two weeks ago, he fell asleep and hasn't woken since."
Adolin walked toward the bed, stopping beside it.
The Count was unnaturally thin, his skin pale. His lips were a vivid red. His breathing uneven.
Adolin moved his hand and stopped. "Can I?"
Eduard gave him a small nod.
Adolin focused and opened the Count's eyes, taking a moment to study the spark.
It flickered.
That surprised him. He'd seen it flicker before, but only in extreme cases. One moment, it was faint, like the man was on the verge of death. A few days, maybe a week. The next, it flared bright, as if he had his whole life ahead of him.
Adolin clicked his tongue.
"Did you find anything?" Eduard asked, his voice quieter than before.
"Not really. Did you see any... symptoms?" Adolin said, struggling to find the right word.
Eduard shook his head, "There was nothing. The day that it happened, everything was normal. Nothing changed in his routine."
Adolin nodded.
That was all he could do for now. The symptoms the Count showed could point to many different illnesses or poisons. But he had never seen all three at once. Something didn't add up. He needed Analyze. Or something more potent, like Mana Scan.
He turned toward Eduard. "Weird question. Does the Intelligence attribute increase mana?"
Eduard tilted his head. "Yes?"
"Perfect."
"Status," Adolin whispered. It felt awkward to say it out loud in front of so many people.
[Status:]
Name: Dareth Wood
Race: Human
Mana: 35/70
Level: 7
Class: /
[Attributes:]
Strength: 9
Agility: 10
Endurance: 11
Intelligence: 7
Constitution: 9
Attribute Points Available: 5
He put all five points into Intelligence.
His mana pool deepened.
Mana: 35/120
It worked. But he still had to wait for it to replenish.
The spell he used earlier was recognized by the blessing.
[New Skill Detected: Water Control.]
[Skill Tier: 3]
[Level Increased.]
[Attribute Points Available: 5]
"I can heal him, but not now. My mana is too low to properly diagnose the problem. And even then… if it's as bad as I think, I won't have enough to cure him."
"How bad?" Eduard said.
"Can't say anything before I can properly analyze it."
Eduard turned toward the guard, "Bring a mana potion."
It took a few minutes before the guard was back, holding a small bottle of blue liquid.
Adolin got his hands on the potion and took a moment before drinking the bottle. The effect took effect quickly. A cooling feeling spread from his throat down to his stomach. And he felt his mana replenishing.
He touched the Count's forehead and closed his eyes. "Analyze," he muttered under his breath.
His mana spread through the body, searching for anything out of place. There were a few minor ailments scattered throughout, but they weren't the cause. They were just aftereffects of whatever was troubling the Count. The spell revealed nothing else, so he shifted the focus of his mana toward the mana core.
That reminded him to try some of the meditation techniques for increasing his mana pool.
But he quickly pushed the thought aside. Invading the mana core was an easy way to kill him by mistake.
The core looked healthy from the outside, so he spread his mana along the surface. He noticed a faint trace of corrupted mana leaking from it. That could be the cause. He focused all of his mana on it.
Nothing.
The corrupted mana revealed nothing about its source or nature. That left two possibilities. Either it was just a byproduct of the main cause, or it was the cause itself and beyond what Analyze could detect.
He could treat the ailments with the healing spell, but that was something that even a regular healing potion could fix. It was nothing serious, and by the looks of the Count's body, his constitution was strong enough to get rid of them. But the main cause was located in the mana core, something like that needed a high tier spell to fix. Depending on what it was.
Adolin was leaning toward mana poison, a curse, or something else magical in nature. It wasn't natural. He was sure the Count had been targeted. Even if he couldn't find the exact cause, he could fix it with enough mana. By his estimation, that meant over a hundred levels, with all his additional points invested in Intelligence. It wouldn't take him too long to reach that. Everything depended on how the blessing worked.
The alternative was reaching level thirty and using more advanced diagnostic spells. If he identified the root cause, he could remove it. He estimated he would need spells ranging from level twenty to over level fifty.
Adolin stepped back and opened his eyes.
A translucent window appeared in front of him.
[Analyze Complete.]
[Foreign mana detected.]
[Source: Unknown.]
[Interference level: High.]
That was useful. The blessing gave him its own analysis of the root problem, but it didn't include the details he had uncovered himself. Still, it would be useful for things that didn't require deeper inspection.
[New Skill Detected: Analyze.]
[Skill Tier: 4]
[Level Increased.]
[Attribute Points Available: 1]
He put the point in Intelligence and closed the window.
"The main problem is coming from the Count's mana core," Adolin said.
"Explain," Eduard said, a hint of impatience in his voice.
Adolin chose his words carefully. "Corrupted mana with a foreign influence is leaking from his core. It's causing various ailments throughout his body, but his constitution is strong enough to handle them. A simple health potion would be enough for those."
He paused briefly. "I'm still not certain of the root cause. The spell or substance behind it is high-tier. But I can confirm one thing."
Adolin met Eduard's gaze. "It wasn't natural. The Count was targeted."
Eduard said nothing and began pacing the room.
That confirmed Adolin's suspicion. They were related.
"Can you heal him?" Eduard finally asked.
"I can, but it will take time. I need to grow stronger first."
Eduard stopped pacing. "How long does he have?"
"I can't be certain, but a few weeks at least. If you keep him stable with potions every few days… longer," Adolin said.
Adolin was getting tired from lack of sleep, and people.
"What do you need?" Eduard said.
Adolin smiled, "Five gold."
That was the amount he needed to cover two-week stay in a tavern, food, and still have some left over. But he still needed to have some spare.
"Seven," he quickly added.
"You can stay here. A room in the estate, and any resources you need," Eduard said.
Adolin didn't like where this was going. "No need. I can stay at an inn."
Eduard's expression hardened. "You're not leaving until the Count is healed."
"Is that a threat?" Adolin asked, his voice turning colder.
There was no chance he would stay here. He liked the place, but they would not leave him alone. It was hard dealing with people. He also needed to check in with Lira and the boy.
"Call it what you want," Eduard said.
Adolin chuckled and moved toward the door.
The guards stepped in front of him, blocking his path.
Adolin clicked his tongue. He hated dealing with people. He needed to end this quickly.
He focused and spread his mana through the room, shaping it into spikes rising from the floor toward everyone's neck. When the shape was set, he shifted its nature to earth.
Earthen spikes erupted from the ground, heading towards their necks.
Eduard, the butler, and one of the guards reacted the fastest—but it was already too late.
The spikes stopped an inch from their skin.
Not one of them had time to move.
The guards froze, their bodies going rigid. One of them tightened his grip on his weapon, but didn't dare move.
Eduard didn't move.
His eyes flicked briefly to the spikes at his throat, then back to Adolin.
"Next one will go further," Adolin said. "I will still heal the Count. But your next word could change that."
Eduard nodded.
"Good," Adolin said. "My gold and a carriage." Adolin looked toward the guards, "Move."
The guard cleared his path, and Adolin left the room. Going straight toward the gate.
He was now sure that Eduard could have evaded it, if he felt threatened. But that didn't mean that Adolin couldn't deal with him.
He arrived at the gate.
...
Eduard stared at the earthen spike an inch from his throat.
The room had gone quiet the moment Adolin left, but no one dared to speak. They were all waiting for him.
The priest… no.
Priests used divine magic. Blessings. Adolin used mana. That didn't make sense. Only divine magic could heal.
Eduard exhaled slowly.
The boy's words confirmed what he already suspected. His father had been targeted. At least he agreed to heal him. That was the only reason Eduard hadn't pushed further.
There was no reason to antagonize him anymore. The boy looked like he was ready to end them just to leave. Eduard believed it.
The boy, Adolin, was strange.
He spoke with a broken accent, his words slightly out of place, like a foreigner. He looked like an addict, yet his control over mana was terrifyingly precise.
And then there were the questions.
Was Intelligence supposed to increase mana?
What kind of mage asked something like that?
It didn't make sense.
Eduard frowned. Maybe the boy was playing with him. But it didn't look like that.
The spell he cast was nothing like what normal mages used. There were no signs, no incantation, and he didn't use a staff or a wand.
There was no point in keeping him waiting.
"Nicholas, bring the coins. And prepare a carriage," Eduard said.
The butler didn't question him and moved at once.
The guards were still watching him, waiting for orders.
Eduard turned and left the room. "Double the guard on the main mansion."
Quint, the captain of the guard, spoke. "Yes, milord."
Quint gave a few commands before following him.
Eduard headed toward the gate. Halfway there, the butler approached, holding a small coin pouch.
"The carriage is being prepared. It will be ready in five minutes," Nicholas said.
Adolin stood in front of the gate, the guards blocking his way.
Eduard was glad the boy hadn't lashed out and killed them.
The boy looked at him with that same awkward smile. The coldness was gone. Pale skin. Tired blue eyes. A thin frame. He still looked like an addict from the slums. Except now he wore decent clothes.
Eduard stopped a few steps away and motioned for the butler to hand over the coins.
Adolin took the coin pouch from the butler and looked inside. He smiled and said, "Glad to be doing business with you."
Eduard simply nodded, "When you are ready, leave a message for the bartender at the Garden Inn, in the Academy District. We'll keep providing him potions until then."
The boy nodded. "I'll require higher compensation next time."
Eduard nodded. That was only natural. Saving the Count's life was worth far more.
The boy paused, then added, "Twenty gold."
Eduard nodded again, it seemed like the boy didn't know how much healing was worth. Not to mention healing the Count's illness.
Adolin watched his reaction closely. "Twenty-five."
Eduard nodded once more. It didn't matter how much the boy asked. He was prepared to pay hundreds.
The carriage arrived soon after.
The boy hesitated for a moment, a faint frown on his face before stepping inside.
The boy was dangerous, but it seemed like he was not accustomed to dealing with people.
Eduard almost smiled.
The boy was dangerous, easily agitated. But it was also simple dealing with him. All Eduard had to do was stay within his bounds.
Eduard only hoped the church wouldn't act before his father was healed.