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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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“Just close your eyes and try it once. He’s the Lord, after all, he’s lived for ten thousand years. He must know a way, that’s why he told you!”
“Can I really, seriously, just live like this and die?”
“No. If you die again, I’ll drag you out of your grave, not by regression, but by grabbing you by the collar.”
The bickering continued.
Removing the mana circuits entirely and regenerating them. It sounded good that it was a method taught by the Red Dragon Lord.
If the person who taught it wasn’t a dragon, and the person saying these words so confidently wasn’t a dragon, Rudrick would have scoffed and ignored it, asking if it even made sense.
He could understand the principle.
For example, in Rudrick’s past life, cancer, a disease that humanity had not yet completely conquered, was a correct and appropriate analogy.
The principle of chemotherapy is to suppress the division of cancer cells and prevent their proliferation. And in the process, chemotherapy or radiation therapy is used to destroy cancer cells along with normal cells so that cancer cells can no longer proliferate.
That is the principle of chemotherapy.
If you think of it in the same context, Rudrick could understand.
However, understanding with your head and understanding with your heart are different things.
“…Actually, if you think about it, it’s all the natural order. In exchange for this constitution, I have exceptional talent, so isn’t it the law of equivalent exchange? And it’s not like I’m going to die right now. I think just living like this isn’t so bad.”
“Absolutely not. If you die, I’ll die too. No, I’ll use whatever means necessary to drag you out of your grave by the collar.”
Sylphia’s eyes darkened at Rudrick’s words.
It was because the words he had spoken without much thought had touched Sylphia’s sore spot.
It was a remark that stimulated a kind of trauma shared by all five of them.
Sylphia’s voice sank heavily.
“…Darling, no, Rudrick. Even as a joke, don’t talk about living like this and then dying or whatever.”
“…Yes, ma’am.”
“Don’t be irresponsible. You might be able to say such things so casually, but what about me, who will be left behind?”
Rudrick’s throat bobbed, overwhelmed by the atmosphere.
On the other hand, Sylphia, with a dark expression, spoke faster and faster.
“I don’t know how many thousands of years I’ll live, but am I supposed to spend that long time just reminiscing about the short memories I had with you? That’s absurd.”
Sylphia shook her head and asserted, her face drawing closer.
Rudrick retreated, but Sylphia, unconcerned, brought her face close to his ear.
“Now that we’ve come this far, you can’t die even if you want to. I’ll somehow keep you alive. One experience like that is enough.”
A few short words whispered.
However, Rudrick instinctively sensed the dark something embedded within them and closed his mouth.
And raised the white flag.
“…I’ll just quietly do as you say.”
“Good choice.”
The dark expression, the wandering, unfocused eyes, and the heavily sunken voice.
As if all of that had been a lie, Sylphia returned to her usual self and smiled brightly.
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“But Sylphia, I have a question.”
“What is it?”
They said to strike while the iron is hot, so the procedure began immediately.
For now, it was clear that this was something that had never been done before. And how many people would be skilled enough in magic to tamper with a person’s mana circuits, which weren’t exactly detachable?
Rudrick himself wasn’t confident, and it was a task that required a dragon’s level of skill, making it an unprecedented procedure that had never been attempted before.
Rudrick, lying on the bed with his hands neatly folded, asked with a puzzled look.
“…It’s similar to cutting out mana circuits and then stitching them back together, right? Like, metaphorically speaking, like surgery.”
“Physically, nothing is being done. But if you exclude the fact that it is done entirely through magic from start to finish, it would be a similar feeling.”
“But in a way, it’s like performing surgery, so is it okay to just lie down like this?”
“Ahem…”
Sylphia cleared her throat.
Rudrick lay calmly with his hands folded over his chest, and Sylphia, lying right next to him, protested as if making an excuse.
“It’s a delicate operation, so I need to be closer. That way, if something unexpected happens, I can take immediate action.”
“…We’ve been married for over a year now, you know? It’s been too long to call us newlyweds.”
“So?”
“First of all, please calm down and focus. I don’t want my circuits to be completely destroyed, leaving me unable to use magic ever again. And do something about that heartbeat.”
“…”
Sylphia closed her mouth as if caught in a lie. If she listened carefully, she could hear her heart pounding rapidly.
Her face flushed slightly, feeling like she had unintentionally shown an unsightly side.
Sylphia cleared her throat repeatedly and replied in a small voice.
“…I’ll try.”
Rudrick, hearing the unreliable answer, steeled himself.
‘I might end up giving up being a mage in exchange for living without problems.’
Judging from her behavior so far, Sylphia didn’t seem very trustworthy. It was clear that she was unparalleled in magic, being a dragon.
Other mages would be in awe, saying,
‘Oh… Dragon Speech…!’
But the fact that she was so untrustworthy was a talent in itself.
To put it mildly, it was the task of completely reconstructing Rudrick’s mana circuits, which were intricately and extensively spread throughout his entire body, even down to his fingertips, like blood vessels.
It was a delicate task of removing all the congenitally twisted mana circuits and reconstructing them, not just fixing acquired damaged circuits.
It was a task so far beyond the norm that only a dragon, known as the master of magic, would even dare to attempt it.
Rudrick closed his eyes, considering the worst-case scenario.
Even in the worst case, he would only lose the right to perform the miracle of magic, with his mana circuits damaged beyond repair.
At least his life wouldn’t be in danger, which was the only consolation.
“…Then I’ll begin.”
Sylphia spoke. And to facilitate the penetration of mana, she clung tightly to Rudrick. It was a process of increasing the contact area of their skin.
In fact, if you asked if increasing the contact area was helpful, it was so insignificant that you would have to go down to several decimal places. But this wasn’t to satisfy her personal desires, it was to eliminate any variables that might occur, even if it was one in a million.
Sylphia muttered this to herself repeatedly as she focused her mind.
Sylphia’s circuit, having focused her mind, connected with Rudrick’s circuit.
This was something that occasionally happened at night.
The method they had been using as a temporary measure was to transfer Rudrick’s excessively abundant mana through the connection between their circuits.
Of course, the transfer efficiency wasn’t as good as a direct connection. But now, they weren’t connected to use that method, but for Sylphia to interfere with Rudrick’s mana circuits.
“Huu…”
Sylphia took a short deep breath and slowly sent her mana through the connected circuits.
Like a tree spreading its branches, the densely packed mana successfully permeated Rudrick’s body through the connected circuits.
In the process, an unusual flow of mana spread throughout the mansion, and soon the door opened slightly.
“…”
The person staring intently at Sylphia and Rudrick was Arwen.
Arwen, who was most sensitive to the flow of mana, felt the anomaly, came to investigate, and watched the scene in silence.
‘Interfering with the mana circuits…?’
Arwen, who was well-versed in magic, recognized the process at a glance.
Honestly, she had never thought of such a method, so it felt novel.
Arwen quickly grasped the situation and muttered under her breath, so as not to disturb them.
‘…Reconstructing the circuits themselves has a high chance of solving the problem, but if the mana circuits are damaged, he won’t be able to use magic ever again.’
It didn’t seem like a good idea.
Simply put, living like this wouldn’t cause Rudrick to die young like before the regression.
Since he periodically released all the mana in his body, his lifespan was the same as that of ordinary people.
In fact, having reached the level of an archmage, he could delay aging and extend his lifespan with the power of mana, easily living two or three times longer than ordinary people.
If he reconstructed his mana circuits like this, he could fully enjoy the privileges granted to superhumans, not just two or three times, but extending his lifespan like long-lived species such as elves, who lived for hundreds of years, wouldn’t be a problem.
It didn’t seem necessary to take such a risk, so Arwen watched the process with a nervous look.
‘…In the worst case, he just won’t be able to use magic, so, well.’
Ironically, Rudrick, the person involved, had made peace with the situation and was in a state of detachment.
From the moment she started, Sylphia was in a state of extreme concentration.
She was so focused on connecting the mana circuits that she didn’t even notice Arwen’s gaze.
She wiped the sweat beading on her forehead with her sleeve and slowly began to remove Rudrick’s circuits by sending in her mana.
Carefully removing the extensive mana circuits that spread throughout the entire body, down to the extremities, without causing any negative effects on the body, was a tightrope walk where even Sylphia could fail with a single misstep.
It was a painstaking task, comparable to threading a narrow needle hole hundreds of times in a row, in one go.
And.
At some point, the mana began to boil and churn.
Just as the body’s white blood cells react to external invasions and activate the immune system, Rudrick’s mana began to respond, treating Sylphia’s attempt to remove his mana circuits as an enemy.
This was a natural reaction unrelated to Rudrick’s will, and Sylphia, knowing this, struggled to maintain the connection between their circuits with her eyes closed.
Since it wasn’t a process that could be completed in an hour or two, time passed, and at some point, Rudrick, who had been lying still with his eyes closed, fell asleep.
Just as the sound of his gentle breathing began to be heard, exactly 3 hours and 30 minutes later, Sylphia finally succeeded in removing all of Rudrick’s mana circuits and sighed in relief.
“Haa…”
They had passed the most difficult part.
It was a remarkable achievement to have cleanly removed all the mana circuits in the body without any negative effects, even amidst the resistance from Rudrick’s mana.
The densely packed mana within Rudrick’s body began to dissipate, and Sylphia, convinced that the method suggested by the Lord was successful, reconnected their circuits.
Now, all that was left was to reconstruct them for a complete and perfect success.
However.
“…Now move aside. I will do it. Just watch quietly.”
“What?”
At the same time Arwen blocked Sylphia with an abrupt voice, Sylphia’s eyebrows furrowed.
Regardless, Arwen retorted flippantly.
“It would be better if I did it. It’s frustrating to watch.”
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