Chapter 38: A Naive Guy
The place where Lionel dropped Desire was his personal home. There is nobody else present in his home, and it was in the safest place located in the Lion Clan territory.
Lionel left immediately after leaving something behind to Desire and left Desire to Jarina, her daughter.
Now, the duo of Desire and Jarina were walking through the hallways.
They talked about how things went in their way and how was their daily life. Jarina didn't ask about what Desire got in his training.
It seems she wasn't too nosy about such things.
Well, she deemed it unnecessary to know. If Desire wants to let her know, then Desire will tell her.
"Oh. I have a question. Would you mind answering it?" Desire asked as he looked at Jarina, who was walking beside him.
"I know what it is. It's why I am here, right?" Jarina continued walking as she spoke.
"It's simple. There's a problem and that to solve it, I have to move somewhere else."
"What kind of problem is it? Why do you have to go to a human city when you are a monster?"
What Desire was interested in the most was the fact that Jarina or her father was willing to take the risk of having Jarina move into a human city despite being a monster.
A human city is literally a human city. No other races are staying in here as citizens.
Even if there are other races here, those are slaves or personal toys of some wealthy or powerful people in Jakart.
And if ever someone is suspected of being a monster or is another race entirely, that someone would get killed or captured to be sold as a slave.
Lionel is a special case. He has some monster blood, which is quite evident in his body, but there is no doubt that he is a human.
That was also the reason why he has many enemies.
The people, humans, to be specific, at the top of other forces in the Jakart, don't like a monster being in charge of the whole city.
Leaving the authority and power to some half-wit bastard like Lionel is something they could never stand for.
Well, some people just want the power for themselves, and some just want him to die because of a personal grudge.
Nevertheless, because of Lionel's blood, enemies are trying to bring him to death even if there is no bad blood between them.
"I'll tell you when the time is right. Right now, you're..."
Jarina trailed off her words to let Desire's imagination to finish it.
Her voice was full of sorrow and sadness, even though she has control over her emotions.
And Desire could pick those up in just a matter of a second.
'You're..., huh.' Desire thought as he stayed silent.
It was not proper to disturb a lady who was being considerate to a guy like Desire who was...
'Weak.'
Either way, Desire would know the answer if he got stronger.
That was why he immediately changed gears and asked another question.
"What do you mean by Core Formation? I've read the No-Attribute Magic, and it said that the core of No-Attribute Magic is the Core in magicians. Is that the same?"
Desire asked while having a faint smile on his face.
His eyes looked straight at Jarina.
Of course, Jarina quickly answered his question to avoid having an awkward atmosphere.
"That's right. Swordsman, archers, berserkers, lancers, or magicians all have a core. That is true for both humans and monsters."
It was then.
As they continued to walk, Jarina stopped in front of a door.
She then turned her body and placed a hand on the doorknob.
"Kuhrada."
Clang! As magic flowed out of Jarina's hand, the sound of something unlocking could be heard throughout the silent hallway.
The door opened without a hitch, and Jarina gestured for Desire to follow her inside the room.
"Well, tonight, what we are going to do is to form your Core. This Core is fundamental or foundation for your magics in the future."
The room was simple. It only had a bed and a chair...no; another chair appeared when Jarina moved her hand.
The chair that appeared was beside the chair that was originally in the room, and Jarina sat in one.
"Come on, sit."
Jarina spoke while patting the chair that is clearly meant for Desire.
Desire quietly followed her instructions. Although he was extremely curious about what happened with the door, he didn't ask.
This was a moment that would decide what could happen to his foundation.
To be honest, Desire had the necessary time back in Skinjur to form his core.
The No-Attribute Magic book has the necessary instructions and detailed steps on how to form a core.
If Desire wanted to, he could have formed it and saved time in doing so.
However, he didn't. It was because Desire knew that the core is something special for a magician.
If he did something like that without a guiding hand and failed, it was obvious what would happen to him.
"So, what are we going to do now?" Desire asked while having some expectant eyes.
However, that changed when he saw the dark smile on Jarina's face.
Gulp. His throat moved involuntarily as he realized what it was.
He saw this face before, and that was when she released her aura to attack or rather inform Desire of the possible dangers back then.
"You haven't changed at all. Do you think Core Formation is an easy task that you could just breeze through it?" Jarina spoke while having the same smile plastered on her face.
It was then.
Desire tried his hardest to answer Jarina's question as he felt danger coming to him.
Thanks to his Heavenly Demon Trait, he could remember every detail written in the No-Attribute Magic book.
Remembering a certain line, Desire spoke while having a stiff smile on his face.
His mouth twitched awkwardly.
"W-well, the Core Formation is something that could be done in just one night, right? I've read it on the No-Attribute Magic book!"
"Of course. That is not wrong. However, why do you think it could be done on a single night? It's not easy."
Jarina then used her magic to form a glowing orb in the air.
The orb just floated and swam through the air in front of Desire.
"This is the Core. If this Core is built weakly, then..."
Jarina then used her hand to chop the core, and the core amazingly broke down without a fight.
"...It can be destroyed just like that. Now, a person who can use magic already has a core."
Jarina then erased the glowing orb and pointed her finger to Desire.
"You can use magic, so naturally, you have a core."
Desire nodded his head heavily.
What Jarina said wasn't wrong. Desire could use magic even when he was still a baby.
What's more, he could control the magic that has to be filled with huge amounts of mana with only 1 mana in his arsenal.
The quality of the magic was even more powerful than the ordinary.
If Desire could use magic without a core, he would be an amazing genius that could use the mana lingering in the air.
However, Desire knew that he wasn't like that. He could feel the magic, the mana coming inside of him.
"A core that has been created without thinking would be full of dirt and impurities. Then..."
Jarina created two orbs in the air. The one on the right was clean and was glowing brightly and on the left was...well, let's just say that it wasn't glowing.
"If you could create or let your core become like this one at the right, your magic would be even more powerful. The mana that could be stored inside the core would be much more than what you could currently store."
"However, if you continue letting your core become like this, the one at the left, you would become a cripple."
Jarina erased both orbs and put a finger between Desire's eyes.
"But! Having a dirty core is not bad at all. In fact, it serves a good function and can upgrade your core."
Core naturally has grades according to their level. Well, at this point, Desire has the lowest grade possible.
"How is that possible?" Desire asked, his interest was piqued.
"See what father gave you? That's a Magic Core straight from monsters."
"W-what?"
Desire's eyes widened to the brim.
"F-from monsters?" Desire stuttered while muttering the phrase Jarina said.
He was shocked beyond belief when he realized that it was something they got from monsters.
After all, who was Desire?
Desire was a guy who loves monsters. Even if he could hide or control his emotions now, it doesn't mean his love disappeared.
"W-what..."
This was the first time Desire was shaken to the core ever since he got the Heavenly Demon Trait.
He looked at the stone...at the Magic Core, which was from a monster who died.
His eyes were quivering, and his hands were shaking.
"A monster's death...is for my benefit?"