Chapter 185: Be Grateful

“Will it hurt?”

As Alfred’s hand hovered just close to my abdomen, I asked the question—

“Not much.”

“Hm. Alright—”

My pupils dilated the second the cube touched my abdomen.

An electrifying sensation passed through my body, as I felt a chilling cold.

Then Alfred pierced the pincers right into my abdomen and pushed them deeper as blood began to leak from the wound.

The pain registered in my mind, but it was still within reasonable limits.

“Argh—”

Or that was what I thought before a groan leaked from my mouth.

After being inserted into my abdomen, I could feel the cube moving deeper as it somehow reached my core effortlessly without any kind of resistance.

Every time the cube moved, another jolt of pain passed through my body, as if I was being hanged by a hook that was placed in my guts.

Still… it was manageable—

“Cough… Cough—”

Thud.

I involuntarily coughed some blood as my knees collapsed onto the floor below with a thud that echoed across the silence that had ruled the room before.

“An expected outcome.”

The words made me raise my head to look at Alfred, who had begun noting something down in his device, with his eyes as indifferent as ever.

“The pain may now intensify—”

Alfred didn’t have to tell me, as the pain in my abdomen intensified by another margin.

The cube had now made contact with my core.

I closed my eyes to sense the flow of mana around my abdomen, only to find that my senses were dulled.

I could feel the cube dissolving, as its transparent surface began to merge with my core—

No.

It wasn’t merging but covering the core from all sides.

The pain began to increase with each passing moment.

Still… I tried my level best to suppress the groans that were trying to rush out of my mouth.

The cube had now entirely enclosed the core, as I could sense some of its transparent edges protruding out from the usual spherical shape of my core.

Huh?

Now that I think about it, I was unable to sense the flow of mana around my abdomen, but surprisingly, I could easily sense and imagine every detail that was happening around the area of my core.

“Fuu…”

I had to take a deep breath, as I felt my lungs being constricted under the pressure that was being released from below.

Another breath… then the next…

I kept taking deep breaths, as my mind had begun to feel dizzy.

Sigh.

The core was the most important part of a cultivator’s power, so it should have been obvious for the process to be difficult.

My abilities so far had made many things far easier for me, but in this case, none of my abilities could help me in any way.

It was like everything was going on in autopilot mode, with no way for me to interfere with the process.

My core was reacting to the device on its own with no need for me to actively do anything on my part.

That could have been considered a great thing, but right now… I felt helpless like never before.

As I tried to will the mana through my body again in order to gain some control over the process…

I wasn’t able to do a thing.

With my core being enclosed by the cube, the entirety of my mana control felt handicapped.

“Ugh—”

Another groan somehow escaped my lips, as I could now sense the cube beginning to dissolve… again?

The cube had now dissolved and began to mix in my core from within.

I could sense its protruding edges dissolving too, as my mana core began to emit short pulses of mana at certain intervals.

Looking at Alfred, who kept staring at me like I was some research subject… I just hoped that everything was going alright.

Maybe…

I should have waited till Arthur had returned from his expedition.

I couldn’t really trust this guy—

“Has it begun to dissolve?”

Alfred interrupted my thoughts as he crouched down to meet my eyes.

I just nodded my head in return, as uttering the words felt like a far more difficult task to accomplish due to the constant lack of air in my lungs.

“Hm. That’s expected. The cube should now solidify again.”

Huh?

Why—

My mind went blank, as the pain coursing through my abdomen increased by several levels.

Every particle that made up the cube had begun to retract out of my mana core.

One by one, I could sense the entirety of the cube solidifying again, taking its earlier shape, as the edges of the cube protruded from around the mana core.

But—

This time, the cube felt smaller than before.

Were some of the particles absorbed by my core?

The thought made me frown slightly, but there was no need for me to think long, as Alfred, seeing my reaction, took the effort to clarify my doubts.

“Along with your core, enclosing your mana meridians is important too, as they are the main channels for transferring mana through your body. To hide your rank completely, it’s necessary to bring them into the sphere of influence of my device.”

Haa…

The cube had begun to dissolve again, as I could sense small particles travelling through my mana core into all the mana meridians across my body.

Still… a very thin transparent covering was left on my mana core, though the rest of it was transferred to my meridians.

“I had made the device so that even after ranking up, there would be no damage to your core. I had to take extra effort to reduce all the side effects that the device could possibly impose on your body. So, be grateful for that.”

Alfred completed his statement as he continued to observe me without blinking his eyes.

Though he spoke the words in an even tone, I could feel the superiority dripping from each of them.

We were in a cooperative relationship, so this was the least that he had to do.

Be grateful—

My foot.

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