Chapter 62 - Renewal

With her demonstration out of the way, Lily was allowed to leave the classroom and return to her room. Margit promised to send her the schedule once it was determined which classes she would join.

Lily didn't mind leaving it to the adults; she was far more excited to tell Arakil the good news. Practically bursting into her room, she went for the book and began retelling everything that happened.

[Astral Magic being potentially unknown is a fortuitous situation for us. Although having said that, we must also consider the possibility that this instructor doesn't have knowledge from more prestigious institutes. Although that, again, is not a bad thing, as that would mean Astral Magic is scarce, making you much more desirable as a student.]

"I think you're worrying too much about it," Lily replied with a tiny giggle. "But I'm glad that it's looking very positive right now. I was really worried he wouldn't accept me or I'd get in trouble because Rose punched him."

[I think I'm worrying the right amount; one can never be too careful. But, on a more positive note, I have a request: I'd like to join you in these lessons and hear what this teacher has to say.]

"Of course! I'd love to take you with me to classes," Lily agreed hastily. "Although you are a bit big… So it'll be a bit of a struggle."

[Agreed, which is why I think we should repair the size-altering functions first. I looked over the decayed segments of the book and concluded that they would be relatively easy to fix. Furthermore, now that your Mana Core has been attuned to Astral, I believe it will even harmonize a bit with it.]

"Really?" Lily asked in disbelief. "I thought you were a little against Astral magic, but now you are saying it will help us out?"

[Astral attuned Mana. And yes, while I was initially… Biased against the magical category, I must admit that its applications suit an eager new apprentice such as yourself. As for the harmonizing, it has to do with the composition of the materials this book was made out of. One of the prime ingredients was a Cosmic D- Monster ... So it should drink up your Mana like a sponge.]

"D Monster?" Lily muttered curiously.

[ Yes … A massive beast that soared through the cosmos, able to devour dying stars. They were quite rare in my time, and a testament to one's power was to challenge one. I used one in the book's creation to harmonize with the black hole and pocket universe, among other things.]

Lily blinked a few times, unsure if Arakil was exaggerating or telling the truth.

He's always been so serious in the past, so he must be telling the truth. But what the heck is a D-Monster?

Lily decided to ignore it and move on, "Okay… So what would we need to do? Didn't you mention that converting my Mana is tough?"

[Yes, I'll need you to channel into the cover itself. It might be easier if you do so while the book is closed. A permanent restoration will take some time with you repeatedly tending to it, but if you give it a large enough burst, we could do a one-time size change for now.]

Lily gasped in amazement, "That's so… Magical!"

[Not quite… It falls more under the domain of artifice and enchantment. But I suppose it is a magical effect.]

"Ugh! Don't take everything I say so literally," Lily grumbled.

[Point taken. So shall we reduce my size?]

Lily nodded, "Yes. But won't I need my Mana for the rest of the day? Shouldn't we do this at night before bed?"

[Well. If you emptied your Mana Core now, we could also move on to drinking your Mana potion and refining it further. You've undoubtedly become adequately attuned and stable enough to receive an influx of Mana.]

"Yes!" Lily cheered, almost immediately rushing to her secret hiding spot to pull out the treasured Mana potion.

Lily eagerly stared at the glowing liquid, giving it a tiny swirl and watching its nearly iridescent color change.

"So I close your book and focus on putting Mana into the cover," Lily repeated the instructions for confirmation. "It sounds a bit hard. I've never really tried to focus it on one specific section of an item and not just the whole thing."

[It can be tricky, but you are up to the task. You've already directed your Mana correctly to your throat and fingers. I also believe that the cover itself will help guide you due to its cosmic nature. It will be eager to drink. You'll know it's completed when the book changes size. Then you can move immediately to drinking your Mana potion, using the same method you previously used with a tight inward spiral to refine it.]

"Okay, got it, I won't let you down!" Lily replied confidently.

She carefully closed the book, took a deep breath, and channeled her Mana. At first, she noticed she still included the entire book as her target, so she tried to hone it further with renewed effort.

Surprisingly, as she began focusing on the target, she could feel an almost subtle draw trying to direct her Mana toward it.

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The Cosmic D-Monster!

Lily redoubled her energy and channeled harder, reigning in the Mana with her willpower and directing it towards the hungry source. Once the connection was established, it very much felt like a sponge sucking up water, and she felt herself relaxing slightly to maintain the connection.

Moments passed, and as she opened her eyes to witness what was happening, she saw the book's cover almost come to life. The previously dull black leather cover was now an enriched black, with a shimmering hint of purples dancing across it. What once looked almost like cracked weathering vanished entirely as if the book itself was freshly minted. The transformation was so profound that it left Lily staring in awe.

Lily gazed in awe when the book flashed an iridescent kaleidoscope before shrinking before her very eyes. The sudden abruptness nearly caught her off guard, and she stifled a startled squeak.

Canceling the magical connection, she noted her Mana Core was almost entirely drained. Her stomach lurched in protest, and she felt some minor fatigue beginning to fester.

"Being empty on Mana really sucks…" Lily groaned. "But it worked!"

Arakil's book was now much more manageable in size. What was previously a massive tome that she would have to heave around with two hands was now the size of a diary. Picking it up and feeling its new weight, she was delighted that she could now take Arakil with her wherever she went.

If we fix this permanently, maybe he can shrink to pocket size! That's so cool!

Lily placed the resized book on her table and opened it, amazed at how all the previous written texts were still in their usual spots and perfectly scaled to match the smaller pages.

"It worked, Arakil! This is amazing, I can't believe how wonderful this is! Everything is perfectly smaller!" Lily said joyfully.

[Excellect. Good luck with your Mana refinement! I believe in you.]

Lily nodded happily and uncorked the potion. Once again, she breathed deeply, refocusing herself.

"Wait!" Lily blurted out, a snap moment of realization. "I need my Mana Gathering Array!"

Lily felt embarrassed that she had nearly forgotten such a vital part. After carefully recorking the potion and gently placing it on the table, she fetched the wooden board and put it in the center of her room, unfolding it to its active position.

Lily grabbed her potion, sat down in the middle of the array, and prepared to drink the liquid. Before finally taking the drink, she did a quick mental checklist to reassure herself that she hadn't forgotten anything.

With no further preparation, she chugged it and was met with the familiar faint rooty licorice flavor. Moments after swallowing, she felt the bubbling energy rising up from her stomach, spreading out through her system, and chasing away any hint of fatigue she had.

Lily meditated, falling into the routine with practiced proficiency. The usual black mental landscape was littered with so much silvery light that Lily could barely believe it. When she formed her inward spiral, it effortlessly collected the Mana, and she funneled it straight into her Mana Core.

Slowly but surely, another thin layer was being created over the circumference of the silvery sphere, and unlike before, she had enough Mana to work with to actually see a visible difference in a reasonable timeframe. Bit by bit, the Mana Core began to grow, and Lily felt a budding excitement.

Done!

Lily opened her eyes and smiled, placing a hand on her chest where the Mana Core was supposedly housed. She wondered if it was actually growing in physical size or if it was more metaphorical growth.

If it's growing, then I'll need to be big enough to handle it myself. What if it starts pushing against my ribs? That sounds dreadful!

With nothing more to collect and refine, Lily gave her body a full cycling flush of Mana, trying to guesstimate how much more Mana she had to work with. Although she had to give up after a few evaluation attempts, it wasn't at full capacity since she had used the potion for refinement rather than recovery, so it was a little moot anyway.

Her stomach gurgled as if to remind her it was lunch. Her Mana Core was a hungry beast, demanding as much nurturing as she could give it.

"It was a success; I managed to grab almost every little bit of Mana!" Lily told Arakil proudly.

[Excellent. We will have you in tip-top shape for the examination. You will pass it with flying colors!]

"And more Mana to work with means we can also start fixing your eye. Wouldn't you like to be able to see the lessons as well?" Lily asked.

[It would be beneficial, I do admit. But a portion must still keep going towards reinvigorating the book itself. Anyway, you should go grab some food—even I can hear your stomach speaking.]

Lily blushed furiously and made preparations to head for lunch. While packing away, she briefly considered carrying Arakil but figured bringing a book there would be a bad idea—what if someone spilled something?

Lily returned the book to its usual spot, promising to fetch him after lunch and take him with her to her job at the potion shop. As she began walking toward the cafeteria, she found herself lost in thought about the immediate future.

I wonder what will happen there. What if my magic classes are in the afternoon? I suppose I will need to explain this to Camilla, or maybe Margit will tell her. Either way, Camilla won't be too happy. But, then again, Margit really got angry when she heard I got a book of alchemical glyphs from her—she called her a witch!

Lily sighed.

I do still want to keep doing my potion work. It's been far more interesting since we started working with magical elixirs. If Arakil agrees, I want to take alchemy as one of my electives. I'm confident I've got enough of a foundation to get in! Then, when Rose and I become adventurers, I can make them and keep us stocked up and healthy.

Lily nodded to herself.

Also, I still need to get more Mana potions; my Mana Core won't grow. I can't get ingredients from the tiny hidden grotto anymore, so Camilla's now my only source.

Plus, I think Miss Camilla still needs my help; her bad eyesight and hands are really not good for her. I wonder when she will finally retire? If she hasn't decided, maybe I can suggest she retires when I leave for Regarth? Even if I leave her plenty of glyph supplies, she will run out eventually. I'm sure she will have enough money by then, right?

Lily paused to picture it and shook her head. Even in her imagination, she couldn't imagine Camilla ever retiring. But she put those thoughts aside as her immediate concern was eating a delicious and nutritious meal.