"Hey, Ian. Did you feel that? The mont we arrived outside of that storm, I suddenly felt refreshed."
On the top deck of the Silver Gull ship, standing beside Ian, Lyra asked intriguingly while feeling the new atmosphere around her.
Just like she said, although they had noticed a massive surge of mana after getting out of that Abyssal Node a month ago, it wasn't as refreshing as it was now.
It was as if they had been drowning in deep water and could finally breathe air again.
"Yeah, I feel it too. It is strangely refreshing. I feel like practicing here might be many tis faster than before."
Aurora, on the other side, also nodded slightly in agreent, as she felt the sa as Lyra.
But she, too, was stumped as to what the cause was, as it was such a subtle change she might have ignored it if not for Lyra.
"What you guys are feeling is the Call of Mana."
Just when Lyra and Aurora were puzzled and Ian was about to respond, a young voice suddenly interrupted midway, answering their question.
Following the voice, a young bird suddenly appeared, expertly landing on Ian's shoulder and curiously looking at the land ahead.
The bird was small and sleek, with ember-hued feathers that shimred like molten gold. Although it looked like an ordinary raven, its otherworldly appearance made everyone think otherwise.
"Call of Mana? What is that?"
Hearing Ignysyl's words, Lyra asked while looking at him, not surprised by his appearance.
Aurora was the sa. Although she didn't yet know he was a living dragon, she had seen this disguised pet of Ian after leaving that tempest a day ago.
"Hmm, how should I describe it?"
Hearing Lyra's question, Ignysyl took a solemn posture, his small body appearing as if in deep thought, causing Ian to roll his eyes.
No matter what, this little guy never forgot to show off.
Fortunately, the wait wasn't long, as Ignysyl began to speak,
"Consider it this way. Every being in this Aetherion carries a unique mana signature from birth, whether living or not, that can connect to the invisible river of mana. And the Call of Mana is the resonance each being is capable of having with this world."
The little dragon paused for a mont before continuing,
"Such resonance can be weak or strong, depending on your affinity with mana. You can feel it because you have a good elental affinity, but they can't, since their resonance ability isn't strong enough."
Ignysyl pointed at the middle deck, where the apprentices from the Gravethrone Continent were busy talking and laughing with each other, seemingly unaware of anything.
"Then, what is the use of it?"
Lyra asked again, feeling that rely being able to sense it wasn't all that beneficial. Besides indicating a good talent, it seed to serve no real purpose.
"Oh? Of course, it has a use—and a great one at that."
Ignysyl smiled a little, though it looked no different from his usual appearance of a bird awkwardly opening its beak to speak, ruining any suave deanor.
But Ignysyl didn't care and continued,
"As you know, every intelligent magical being in this world who wants to use and acquire spells must chant first to use them effectively. It is the sa for humans, other races, and even monsters. There's no way around it."
"You can think of it as a rule of this world."
Ignysyl was about to continue his lengthy lecture when Ian cut him off,
"Yeah, and the one way to shorten or even stop the chanting is to make a mark with your unique signature in the invisible mana river that is ever-present."
"But it is easier said than done. Still, those who can do it can reach Sixth Ring Wizard, and hearing the Call of Mana ans you have that potential. That's all. Don't think about these things now; you'll learn them slowly anyway."
Ian spilled out everything in one breath, stopping Ignysyl in ti, as he had no idea when the little dragon would have finished otherwise.
"Ah... so then why couldn't we feel it when we were at sea?"
Lyra basically understood what he ant and asked again, as she had only felt it when nearing the harbor.
"That's because your talent is still too low. I felt the Call of Mana long before anyone else."
Although Ian had cut him off earlier, Ignysyl didn't mind and imdiately began showing off, fluttering his small ember-hued feathers on Ian's shoulder.
With his small form and curious yet adorable eyes, he looked quite charming, causing both Lyra and Aurora to marvel at him, further fueling his ego.
"Hey, you jackasses! If you're done admiring the view, can you climb down from the ship now? Or do you want to welco you personally? Where is that bastard Ron, anyway? Why is he so late?"
However, before he could continue, a loud, irritable voice surged toward them, as if carried by magic.
The voice was so loud and clear that it echoed throughout the entire ship, causing everyone to fall silent instantly.
"Oh? Isn't that Wizard Zane? I didn't expect you to be the one receiving us this ti. What an honor! And there's Miss Yela, too. Haha, it seems I caused quite a bit of trouble this ti. Sorry for the inconvenience."
Just as the shout silenced everyone, another strong, old voice sounded from the Silver Gull, followed by Ron appearing, floating down and landing directly next to Yela.
He then slightly bowed to Yela in apology, as it was indeed his abrupt decision that had caused them so trouble. As for Zane—the irritable young man whose face was as dark as the bottom of a pot—Ron simply greeted him as usual, without politeness.
From his expression and deanor, nobody could have guessed he was already under Ian's control.
"There is no need to apologize. We were on our way anyway. A few days of waiting is nothing."
Yela smiled slightly in response to Ron's apology, not minding his ergency return. To be honest, she understood his plight. Anyone who went to that barren place would likely want to leave as soon as possible.
"Tch... after not seeing you for a few years, you old man have grown so nerve. Is the news true? Did you really find the Ascension material for promotion?"
Zane had already approached and imdiately derailed the discussion with a slightly stern tone, curiously scanning Ron up and down.
In fact, he had heard rumors that soone had sold information about Ascension material to Ron. Shortly after, he learned that Ron had picked the most useless mission.
So, he was quite curious to see whether Ron had actually gotten what he was after.
"I wish! Wizard Zane, can you stop joking? If I had found the Ascension material, would I be standing here talking to you guys?"
Zane's words seed to have poked a sore spot, as Ron rolled his eyes and replied with a slightly stern tone.
"Okay, this is no place to talk. Since you guys are here, we need to leave as soon as possible. We're already late for the mission as it is."
Yela, uninterested in their pointless quarrel, imdiately cut them off. As for the Ascension material, she doubted Ron had it, and with her connections, she didn't yet care about such things.
"Yeah, Wizard Yela is right. I've already caused enough delay. Let's not waste any more ti."
Ron nodded at Yela understandingly, then turned toward the ship and shouted a little low,
"Torren, have your crew empty the ship. As agreed, you may take everything you've captured from the sea along with you. Be quick."
Although his voice was low, just like Zane's voice before, it was carried mysteriously by the wind directly to the top of the Silver Gull, in the captain's room.
Hearing Ron's voice, a full-bearded man snapped awake from his seat, pipe in hand, and responded instantly in a loud, piercing voice.
"Yes, Sir Wizard! Right away!"
Torren was the captain Ron found for his journey to the Gravethrone Continent to complete his mission. In return, he offered everything he and his crew had managed to capture on this journey.
Although it sounded unimpressive, it was a good trade-off, as the Silver Gull was an advanced ship with exceptional speed and durability. Not to ntion the protection it provided in the sea.
Torren did gain a lot on this trip as they were basically busy in the lower deck all the ti collecting anything worthy they could find from the sea. Their special bodies gave an edge to such a hunt.
But, unfortunately, in the end, Torren was still subdued by Ian, causing all his fortune to go to waste.
Well, at least he saved his life, at least for now.
"That's good. Let's have the apprentices co down in the anti and get them settled."
Ron turned around and replied with a smile to Yela, causing her to nod.
"That's good. Um... by the way, Wizard Ron, did you find any good seeds this ti?"
Yela suddenly asked, her gaze shifting to the top of the Silver Gull, where she saw Ian and the others slowly descending the stairs.
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