A human being consumed by the corrupt energy of an ancient magical tome.

This was the scenario Gadena had feared after uncovering the tome's origins.

But the reality before her was something entirely unexpected.

The magical tome was the one screaming in distress, trapped in the hands of the human man.

At this point, Gadena was beyond bewildered. How could reality so blatantly defy expectations? She took a moment to reflect on the absurdities of the world around her before regaining her composure.

“…I don’t know what’s going on, but stop immediately! There is corrupt energy emanating from the tome!” she shouted.

From what Gadena had learned earlier, the ancient tome was a creation of the "La-Diman" faction of Dalatzan—a group of extremist mages who pursued their goals by any means necessary. They wielded all kinds of dangerous powers, including dark magic and blood magic, often intertwined with forbidden forces.

The power within the tome wasn’t something a mere fourth-level mage could handle—even if, for some reason, the man currently seemed to be approaching the fifth level.

<Do you think I’ll just let this happen to me!!!>

The tome’s pages fluttered violently, its energy flaring like a cornered beast making a desperate final stand.

“Ugh…!”

Gadena winced. As an elf, she was especially sensitive to the essence of mana and spirits, and the corrupt nature of the tome’s energy caused her visible discomfort.

'If it’s this overwhelming even from a distance…!'

She dreaded to imagine what would happen to someone directly exposed to such energy. Even a human, naturally less attuned to mana’s properties, wouldn’t escape unscathed—they would likely suffer a mana overload.

Gadena raised her voice, trying to cut through the tension.

“Can’t you hear me?! That tome is radiating corrupt energy! Stop at once!”

Perhaps the man was being physically restrained by the tome’s corrupt influence. Determined to intervene, Gadena drew her wooden staff and stepped toward the tome.

“Wait, Gadena!”

Meltas’s urgent voice stopped her in her tracks.

Gadena’s expression softened slightly. If there were any humans she begrudgingly respected, it was those like Meltas—a master mage of the Grey Tower, poised to break through the sixth-level’s final barrier.

If anyone could offer insights beyond her understanding, it would be someone like him.

“Meltas, what do you suggest? How do we handle this?”

“I don’t know what’s happening, but let’s observe for now! I sense corrupt energy emanating from the tome!”

“Yes, corrupt energy… Wait, what did you just say?”

Observe the corrupt energy? Treat this dangerous contact like a lucky discovery?

Gadena felt her grip on reality slipping.

A corrupt ancient tome screaming in distress while trapped in a fourth-level mage’s hands. A trusted Grey Tower master treating this hazardous situation as an opportunity for intellectual curiosity.

The world felt upside down.

“Meltas! Are you using that man’s life to satisfy your scholarly curiosity? If this continues, that man will almost certainly be ruined!”

“Calm down! Take a closer look at what’s happening to them!”

“What nonsense—!?”

Gadena, rarely emotional, was on the verge of losing her composure when her eyes widened in astonishment.

The tome was actively injecting its mana into the man’s body.

Gadena shuddered. The corrupt and chaotic nature of that mana—it was unthinkable to use it so directly. Most mages would lose control and become thralls to the tome the moment they were struck by such an attack.

But this man was different.

The tome’s mana lost its corrupt essence the instant it entered his body. Not just its chaotic properties, but even the tome’s own will dissolved into nothingness.

What remained was pure mana.

The result was absurd: the tome was unwittingly gifting its mana to the man.

“This is…”

It was a ridiculous situation, but no one could laugh.

The purification—or transformation—of mana wasn’t something that could be achieved so easily, especially when dealing with the ancient, volatile mana of Dalatzan.

Even with proper facilities and tools, such a process would take days.

“…Hah.”

It was then that Gadena finally understood why her companions had been standing still, watching in silence.

No—they had been observing, mesmerized.

As a mage, witnessing such a phenomenon would leave anyone spellbound.

Lowering her staff, Gadena joined them, equally entranced by the scene.

<I… I, the great legacy of La-Diman…!>

The tome finally realized its mistake. Trying to overpower this man by injecting mana had been a grave error.

In a desperate attempt to salvage itself, the tome began withdrawing the link it had established, much like an insect retracting its sting. It attempted to stop the flow of mana into Lysir.

But it was too late.

Lysir’s energy had already seeped through the link, reaching the tome’s very core.

The malice forged into mana—this was the tome’s essence, its very consciousness.

<A-Ahh… Ahhh!!!>

And it was no match for Lysir’s presence. The tome lost control over itself, its consciousness unraveling.

Even as this happened, the injection of mana continued.

<Please… Please…>

The tome’s voice grew fainter, like a flame dwindling to embers.

Eventually, the tome exhausted even the mana that formed its identity, leaving nothing behind.

Its lifeless shell fell to the ground with a dull thud, utterly unremarkable.

“M-Mana Drain…”

Meltas muttered the name of a high-level dark magic ability, stunned by what he had witnessed.

“Are you insane?”

Lysir, who had only passively accepted what was given, immediately corrected him with a stern expression.

“I just sat there and took it.”

“…So you’re saying this Lysir possesses an innate ability to purify corrupt energy?” Gadena asked, her tone laced with disbelief.

Most elves were naturally skeptical of anything involving humans. In a situation like this, a typical elven response would have been something along the lines of:

“Do you think such an innate ability is all-powerful?”
“There’s no way a mere fourth-level human mage could have such a remarkable skill.”

Indeed, this was what Gadena would have said under normal circumstances.

But not this time.

“…As you just witnessed, that seems to be the case.”

Having seen it all unfold right before her eyes, she couldn’t deny it.

“This is… unsettling.”

Despite her long life and countless experiences, Gadena had never encountered anyone as aberrant as Lysir. She hadn’t even imagined such an existence was possible.

It felt as if her entire worldview was being challenged.

To regain her composure, Gadena turned her attention away from Lysir and picked up the remains of the tome.

She flipped through its pages rapidly.

It took her less than ten seconds to assess its entirety.

The tome was now nothing more than a blank notebook.

“…”

Crossing her arms, Gadena rubbed her temples in frustration.

“Meltas.”

The elder mage flinched at her cold tone.

“Do you remember why I allowed these uninvited humans into my lab?”

“…Because of the ancient tome.”

“Right. You implicitly promised me the knowledge contained within it as compensation.”

She flipped through the empty pages again for emphasis.

“And now all I’m left with is a useless notebook and a group of uninvited humans.”

“…”

Gadena gestured toward the door. Understanding her silent command, Lysir and his companions quickly exited the lab.

---

Outside the lab, Lysir noticed something odd.

“Heynia,” he said hesitantly, “I think I unintentionally stole your opportunity.”

“Opportunity? What are you talking about?”

“This.” He held up the remains of the tome.

“Oh.”

Heynia glanced at it and then let out a dry laugh, her expression complex.

Marina chuckled as well. “Opportunity? Really?”

“Isn’t it?”

“Lysir, you might be the only person in the world who would consider that an opportunity.”

As they noticed that Lysir’s mana had swelled significantly, now brushing the threshold of the fifth level, they couldn’t help but laugh again.

“Well, this is just…”

Heynia muttered, exasperated. At this point, she didn’t even have the energy to be surprised.

She wanted to declare, “I’ll repay today’s humiliation!” with bravado, but—

‘…By tomorrow, he might actually hit the fifth level.’

No. Surely not.

Shaking her head to dismiss the thought, Heynia turned away. “Just wait! I’ll catch up to you someday!”

With that, she fled the scene.

Marina followed her student shortly after, leaving Lysir alone with Meltas.

“Sir Meltas.”

“Yes, Lysir?”

“There’s something I’ve been wondering.”

“What is it?”

“Gadena mentioned her lab being ‘contaminated’ by human energy. Did I cause trouble for her?”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll handle it personally,” Meltas reassured him. “She’s an eccentric, but this time it’s on me for barging in uninvited. Let me handle the apology.”

“I still feel bad. If there’s a chance, I’d like to apologize myself.”

Meltas sighed. “You’re too considerate for your own good. Just leave it to me.”

“…Thank you for looking out for me.”

With a grumble, Meltas replied, “What kind of teacher would I be if I didn’t?”

Lysir smiled faintly. “About my teacher… Do you know the name ‘Pamon’?”

“Pamon…?”

The name caused Meltas’s eyes to widen in shock.

“…No! I know nothing of that dark elf! Nothing at all

!”

“…”

How did he know it was a dark elf?

Before Lysir could question him further, Meltas hurriedly excused himself, leaving behind a flurry of promises about future updates and rewards related to the tome.

---

Not long after Lysir’s group had left, Gadena received another unexpected visit.

A tall, imposing man and a woman cloaked in black robes entered without notice.

“Lady,” Gadena greeted the woman, bowing deeply. She was one of Gadena’s most important benefactors and someone even Gadena dared not offend.

“I came to check on your progress,” the woman said.

The elf hesitated for a moment before replying, “…Actually, there’s something I need to report.”

Before she could explain the situation with the “contamination,” the woman pointed toward a chair outside the lab.

“That chair—what is it? The spirits seem to love it.”

“…Excuse me?”

Following the woman outside, Gadena froze.

The chair—discarded after being “contaminated” by human energy—was surrounded by spirits, drawn to it like moths to a flame.

“…”

The elf stared at the scene, realizing that what she had labeled as “contaminated” was somehow more spirit-friendly than the sanctuary she had spent years cultivating.