CHAPTER 82: INVERTED MANA FLOW DISORDER

As Caroline became immersed in an old paper, Leonard didn’t interrupt her.

She must have either discovered something or been in the midst of decoding his anomaly. To distract or interrupt her at the moment would only harm himself.

’Well, don’t mind me looking around then.’ Leonard thought.

She only rejected him from receiving her research papers. But she never once rejected the idea of allowing him to look around the room.

Since she didn’t explicitly say so, it wasn’t wrong for him to walk around her room and inspect something that could be useful for him.

The moment Leonard began to walk around and spotted multiple intricate devices, he was a bit taken aback. ’How are these devices constructed?’

They appeared similar to the medical devices used in his old world, but in an even more advanced form. After all, the devices around Caroline’s room were all meticulously designed and built with the presence of magic.

It also seemed to be powered through mana without requiring any other connection, such as a wire or pipeline.

’Fascinating,’ Leonard’s eyes sparkled slightly. He was amazed and wondered how these devices work.

Just as he was about to extend his hand to touch one of them, a warning came from behind.

"I suggest you keep your hands to yourself. Those devices are modified by me and not for the likes of an amateur to touch." Caroline’s tone was rather cold. It became apparent that she changed into a different person when it came to her research aspects.

"I wouldn’t be touching things around if you gave me some response," Leonard shrugged. As if he would apologize for something like this.

He retracted his hand, but made sure to glance at the devices for a brief moment before turning around to face Caroline.

"Anyway, I saw you grasping hold of an old paper previously. Does that mean you have any clue about my anomaly?"

Caroline didn’t respond right away. Instead, she dashed toward her device and wiped it softly with her sleeve. The gentleness and warmth that she used to treat the device nearly caused Leonard to curse aloud.

’Shit, are those devices her offspring or what?’ He still managed to curse silently while putting up an indifferent expression on the surface.

Currently, he requires her assistance, and not the other way. It would be foolish to offend her over some devices.

"I do have some clues, but I can’t confirm it." Caroline furrowed her brows and said, "If you don’t mind doing some tests, then we can start right away."

"But?" Leonard asked. He was certain there should be a twist to the so-called test.

Sure enough, Caroline explained the twist, "During the test phase, there might be some probing needles injecting into you. I don’t know if such probing would trigger your defensive mechanisms."

Upon hearing that, Leonard frowned a bit. The eighth-level defense barrier being triggered had already caused him quite a headache. If more defensive mechanisms concealed within him were triggered, Leonard was afraid of the chaos it might cause.

Never mind the fact that his disguise would be exposed; the whole world would soon learn of his embarrassing feat. By then, his position as the Crown Prince would be in jeopardy.

He didn’t even need to try to catch the middleman once that occurred. After all, his dearest half-brothers would gladly take over the job and his position.

"Without the probing needle tests, can you at least tell me what you believe I’m suffering from?" Leonard inquired. He ultimately decided against the testing. The risks were too high and overwhelmed the pros.

As if expecting such a response, Caroline handed the old paper over to him.

Leonard accepted the paper and was about to read the content, only to realize the language was inherently different from the Valdoria Continent’s language. At a glance, it seemed to resemble the Elarith language, but upon closer inspection, it wasn’t.

"What language is this?" He raised an eyebrow and questioned.

"It’s a derivative language stemming from the runic tongue of Elarith, known as Belarith," Caroline explained.

"Belarith could be said to be a forgotten language to the majority, but for us researchers, it’s a requirement to learn the language. Most historical texts with extensive research development were written in Belarith language."

"A derivative language of Elarith, huh?" Leonard could nearly feel his head spinning from thinking about learning so many different types of languages.

For a Mage who was required to study the Elarith language for specific chanting, versus a researcher who needed to be proficient in most forgotten or rare languages, the latter was definitely more difficult.

It was no wonder that researchers held so much prestige. This was especially true if they held a dual identity of both a Mage and a Researcher.

"Anyway, the old text basically stated that there is a rare condition in certain individuals known as Inverted Mana Flow Disorder." Caroline snatched the old paper from his hand and deciphered the text.

"As you know, a proper magic circle consists of the three primary layers: containment, function, and directive. Missing either one of these layers, and you won’t have a proper magic circle."

Nodding his head, Leonard understood that basic information already. Thus, he patiently waited for Caroline to continue her explanation.

"Having an Inverted Mana Flow Disorder essentially disrupts two primary layers, namely the function and directive layer. The old text mentioned that an alternative method could be to use external items to regulate and fix those layers in place. But given your earlier display, I have reason to believe your disruptive layer should be the containment layer, which is the base ring that enables one to condense mana."

By the time Caroline finished her explanation, Leonard also came to realize why she was hesitant and unsure of his actual condition.

The disorder affected two specific layers, but his issue was on the containment layer.

After all, he was able to manipulate the surrounding mana and utilize it, albeit very briefly.

’Could it be that no one placed any curse on me and that the original Leonard was born with this defect?’ His expression turned complicated, clearly unable to process this kind of information.