Chapter 57 - The Change (2)

Sometime after sunset, Wesley, who had been lying unconscious on the floor of some alleyway, was brought back to consciousness by the cold night wind. After coughing a few times, his eyes, filled with a dim light of confusion, struggled to focus as he attempted to sit up.

A short while after waking, Wesley's initial confusion seemed to fade, replaced by a resolute expression tinged with a trace of sadness. He looked like someone who had come to terms with something but still harbored some reservations.

At first, Wesley went through the usual stages of denial, believing everything had been a nightmare and that none of it had truly happened. However, this time, he didn’t faint upon realizing that it had, in fact, happened.

He felt a profound sense of unwillingness and pain at the fact that his core had shattered, but there was nothing he could do about it.

Wesley immediately crossed his legs. He wanted to see the extent of the damage to his core with his own eyes. Although he had already resigned himself to his fate, the unwillingness still lingered in his heart.

If his core was truly shattered, then mana would not be able to reside in his mana sea. The core not only attracts mana but also holds it in place, and its shattering meant it could no longer contain the mana.

He urged his core to vibrate. Pain coursed through him as his core vibrated, but he clenched his jaw and held on. Unfortunately, just as he thought, the mana seeped out of his body in massive quantities. But something didn’t feel right.

Wesley immediately noticed that his core was indeed shattered, but somehow, it remained intact. Thousands of cracks spread from the center of his core, like a shattered mirror. Yet, these cracks were filled with a dark substance that acted as a kind of glue, holding the pieces of his core together.

Wesley had no idea what a shattered core should look like, but he felt that it shouldn’t be like this. Shattered meant completely broken, but his core was intact to some extent. And though he didn’t know what the dark matter was, he could feel it.

Wesley's brow furrowed slightly, but his eyes held a glimmer of hope. If his core wasn’t truly shattered, then perhaps... He couldn’t bring himself to finish the thought. Wesley had never wanted anything more than this.

He immediately closed his eyes and began refining mana as if his life depended on it. The pain in his core was ever-present, but Wesley paid it no mind. He had finally seen a ray of hope, and he’d be damned if he let pain stand in his way.

After almost an hour of constant refining, the amount of mana that entered Wesley’s body was enough to fill him many times over, but almost all of it leaked out as soon as it reached his mana sea.

However, Wesley’s face broke into a wide smile because, although almost all the mana leaked out, not all of it did. His core acted like a sieve—allowing most of the mana to flow out unobstructed, but holding onto a small portion.

"Hahahaha..." Wesley let out a hearty laugh, filled with excitement. His core wasn’t shattered. It wasn’t shattered! He couldn’t control the joy flooding his mind and heart. If it were to be described in words, it was like being able to breathe again after holding your breath for far too long.

After five hours of refining, Wesley had managed to fill about a tenth of his mana sea. The pace was painfully slow, but the joy he felt made it all worth it. Additionally, the mana felt different from what he was used to, but he didn’t mind that.

His refining speed could only be described as pitiful, but Wesley didn’t care. Given the choice between a shattered core and a pitiful core, Wesley would always choose the latter.

He immediately calmed his pounding heart. He hadn’t lost all hope. The only thing he seemed to have lost were the few extra hours it would take to fill his mana sea completely—hours he would have needed to spend in the past.

Wesley continued refining, no longer depressed. On the contrary, he was in an exceptionally good mood. Four more hours of refining, and now his mana sea was half full. Though the mana felt somewhat different than usual, he paid it no mind.

Wesley immediately got up briskly, although feeling some pain from numerous parts of his body, his mood was too good to be ruined by such trivial matters. He immediately picked up his dark sword and walked towards the seventh district.

He felt dome reservations against using Dark Warp, so he decided to walk. Wesley cut a miserable figure with his bloody and torn clothes and the painful expressions that flashed through his face every time he took a step.

However, soon enough, Wesley reached the seventh district. It was almost midnight, so the curfew was not yet in place. Wesley however, didn't directly go to the Manor, instead, he found a random alleyway and scurried into it.

Wesley was certain that his Manor was being watched, and walking in looking like he did now, was simply too dumb a decision. He was indeed tired, and his body was in a lot of pain, but Wesley has not forgotten to be cautious.

Considering how Wesley almost died at the hands of that old expert of the Kader Family. He was afraid that the Kader family might connect his current appearance with the things that happened, at which point Wesley would need to face that old man again. He truly was not willing to do that.

Wesley clenched his teeth and immediately started muttering.. He was reluctant to use Dark Warp after what happened, but he had no choice. And he would need to face his fears sooner or later, so he might as well do it sooner rather than later.

However, after Wesley was done with his mutterings, he simply stared at the wall in front of him slack jawed. Nothing happened, let alone a Warp tunnel being opened, his mana didn’t even react to his invoking.

Wesley simply couldn’t understand what was happening. He had mana without a doubt, but his mana didn’t even react to his invocation. Mages invoke their spells by guiding mana through specific channels; the mutterings simply open those specific channels.

There are hundreds upon hundreds of channels in the body, but not all channels could be used by everyone. A dark mage has specific channels that he can use, while a wind mage has different channels. If a wind mage opened the channels used by a dark mage, then nothing would happen.

However, at this moment, when Wesley opened the specific channels for Dark Warp, his mana which was supposed to pour through it, simply remained unmoving. He couldn’t help but feel apprehensive; could it be that his core has lost something essential.

Wesley immediately sat down on the ground and started thinking. He didn’t care that his core's efficiency declined, he didn’t care that he was almost killed and injured severely, however, he simply couldn’t resolve himself to losing his magic.

After a few minutes of thinking, Wesley came up with two conclusions. Either, his core truly shattered and he could no longer be a mage, or his core's changes caused him to be unable to use the methods that he used as a dark mage.

Out of these two possibilities, it was not hard for Wesley to decide which one was more probable. He convinced himself that his core's changes required him to use other channels instead of the original one he learnt. This also made sense since he is able to refine, which shouldn’t be possible with a shattered core.

"I guess I'll need to experiment with different channels and see which...."

Wesley's words were solely for his own benefit. He knew that each affinity had its own channels, and that by being unable to use the channels for a simple dark spell, he most likely wouldn’t be able to use the others as well. He also knew that it is absolutely impossible to change one's affinity.

At this point, Wesley's heart was once again depressed, but he still held onto a hint of hope. He was able to refine against all odds with a seemingly shattered core, he also escaped from an Elder and was able to break out from the void, it shouldn’t be impossible to find a way to invoke.

Having calmed his heart, Wesley started walking towards the Manor. Although he wasn’t able to warp directly to the Manor. He can still wait until past midnight and then his watchers would be forced to leave the seventh district because of the curfew; then he can simply walk into the Manor through the front door.