Chapter 180: Remnants of the dead

'But maybe it would be useful to know about it, just in case? At least it could be helpful for my own spellcasting…' Evin couldn't help but think, as he pondered about the matter a bit. 

'No-no. That's just too much work for something optional. Even if I somehow meet a spell I can't dismantle through the World of Time, I'd rather suffer through that, instead of suffering through optional studies…' Evin thought unconfidently.

As for what he would do when said unbreakable spell was threatening to kill him, well, that wasn't something he would consider when he was trying to slack off.

'Besides, if it can't be dispelled by Time energy or raw mana, it's probably too hard to disassemble through normal means, anyway,' he thought and put the matter out of his head.

"By the way, what will you be teaching me next?" Evin asked Nasst.

"For the time being, we'll focus on getting your mana-core bigger. And before I forget it, here," Nasst said and gave Evin a big wooden box.

Evin opened it and found that it contained another set of syringes and a bottled Core Shard. But this time, there wasn't a weird, web-like dark thing, but a bright pink liquid that was constantly being mixed around.

"You should know that from now on, you should start absorbing Core Shards for other Worlds as well. Their help in strengthening your magic is almost non-existent, but the effects are still there," Nasst explained.

"And also, they reduce the chances of you being rejected entry into a World. My advice is to absorb two courses of a Dark World's Core Shard, and then absorb one course of another World's core shard. Obviously, if you find an alternative method of increasing your Core-size, those are good as well. Depending on how much it would affect your core," Rith added.

"Alright. I'll make sure to keep that in mind in the future," Evin replied.

"But don't use that for the time being. I have a small surprise for you tomorrow," Nasst smiled.

Evin was a bit curious to what this surprise was, but didn't wish to bother with it for the time being. He was also very sleepy.=

"Oh and also, do you have anything you want to ask from me?" Nasst asked, his fingers on his chin.

"Do you know about methods to reduce the Worlds' emotional effects?" Evin asked. He spent a lot of time thinking about things inside Four's World, when he was making his Soul Mask. One thing he realized was that he still hadn't found a solution to this old problem of his.

"But as far as I know, you don't really have any problems with that do you?" Nasst asked with a confused face.

"Well, I have my reasons," Evin didn't really wish to talk about why, as it involved his origins.

"If you say so… It's a bit of an obscure topic, as most mages get used to its pressure gradually and never really face a problem of being overwhelmed by the emotional effects they have on them," Nasst said and began thinking.

"The only thing I can think of is when a mage somehow becomes unable to use magic for a long time, and then gets access to it later. Perhaps in those cases they meet such problems?" Rith voiced out a potential situation from the side.

She obviously knew about Evin's past, so she could see how the emotional effects may become a problem for him. Though she didn't really understand why Evin needed a solution now. She guessed that something must've happened to him while he was in that weird state.

"I'll try to search through the channels that are available to me," Nasst offered smilingly.

'Why is he so amiable now…?' Evin thanked the elder man, but he couldn't help but feel a bit suspicious of him, thinking of how he acted previously. 

Even though there was a mental gap of a month and a debatable century or so, Evin still remembered Nasst's weird mental lashout.

'Maybe Twelve's appearance spooked him?' Evin thought of a possible reason for the apparent change of attitude.

Obviously, from what Evin could understand, Twelve just came to Evin to make sure that Four didn't do anything out of line, make sure that Evin wasn't going to spill any beans and also inform him that the Empress wanted to see him. 

But in the eyes of a bystander like Nasst, an Authority personally came to make sure he was alright, and even stood guard next to him for almost half a day. A literal demigod of unparalleled power, swooping in to help some half-core, like he was the most important person in their lives.

Evin was sure that not a lot of people had ever received such a luxury. And the cherry on top was the fact that unlike most other Authorities that were affiliated with the Four countries, Twelve was affiliated with the Empress. A literal Goddess! The leaders of the Four countries were tantamount to jack-shit next to her, not to mention Nasst, a small-time head of the Department of Intelligence of the Northern Tribe Union 

And it wasn't completely out of line, or random, since Nasst knew that Evin was connected with the former Authority Kena. It was something that could happen.

'Thinking about it now, I would actually be surprised if Nasst didn't act nicely with me,' Evin thought with glee.

'In the end, having a strong backing was the best. No wonder those young masters from noble houses get so cocky. If I didn't know that there would always be someone out there ready to fuck me up for my arrogance, I would probably act like them as well!' Evin thought happily.

"Hmm… well, if you don't mind, I'm going back to my room to sleep," Evin said, ending the awkwardly silent conversation.

"Alright, tomorrow morning after training your Authority Style, please find me and we'll go to the bathroom," Nasst said.

"Hmm?" Evin's voice couldn't help but go a pitch higher, wondering if he heard something wrong.

"It's for your mana-core," Nasst explained with a laugh.

"Oh, alright. I'll be there afterwards, then."

'Guess it's that surprise of his... Though why do you people have to always say it so weirdly?' he grumbled in his head and walked outside the test room. 

After he entered his room, he couldn't help but be delighted by the fact that everything looked much cleaner and 'alive'. Outside the window, instead of a gigantic blue tree that spewed out Soul energy, was the evening sky, with a few bright stars appearing here and there. Evin silently savored its beauty, feeling glad that he was alive currently. A weirdly hearfelt smile appeared on his face.

"What happened to you?" Rith asked from the side, noticing that there was something wrong with him.

"Nothing," Evin shook his head gently and hugged Rith. He was trying really hard to keep himself from tearing up, another new trait that he inherited from Anna. 

'At this point, I don't even know if I should keep these traits or try to get rid of them…' Evin thought, reminded of the weirdly familiar foreign life he went through. He could argue that these habits were one of the only things left from Anna.

He felt pity for the woman… he really did. The only reason he wanted to ask Twelve about the Empress' reasons of committing such slaughter was because of Anna. In every other case, if he had just chanced about this information in a book somewhere that the Empress had committed mass genocide before her ascension… Evin was sure that he wouldn't care one bit about the matter.

Even if he learned that the Final Empress had genocides for breakfast, he would probably shrug it off as a slightly weird flex and go on with his live.

But since Anna had lived through it, well, it suddenly became awfully personal. Obviously, this didn't mean that he would go to the Empress and demand that she explained herself. Evin was simply too selfish… too logical for that. 

'Knowing the reasons would not help Anna. Not even a bit. The dead could not receive help. Well… most of the time,' Evin thought and smiled wryly. He always felt like the act of doing something for dead people was completely pointless. 

'By that logic, it wouldn't really matter for Anna, whether I kept these habits or got rid of them…' he thought, feeling slight disgust for himself. But this feeling of disgust didn't last long, since that was just how Evin was.

'Hail logic,' he thought and let go of Rith.

"It's all in the past. But now, I just want to sleep," he said and jumped onto his bed. 

Rith seemed a bit dissatisfied with the answer, but she knew she wouldn't get anything out of him. She then willed the lights to turn off and lied down onto her own corner on Evin's huge bed. 

…