Chapter 138: The Choice Between Power
It happened almost like magic.
Silas watched as the black threads polluting his Mana pool slowly dissolved into nothingness. The amount that disappeared was almost insignificant, yet that tiny change was enough to make his heart race.
’There is a way.’
Without wasting another thought, he repeated the process again and again. As he guided the water within his Mana pool, he realised it had become noticeably lighter. The crushing heaviness that had resisted his control before was gradually fading, making every movement a little easier than the last.
He ignored everything else and continued for hours, watching more black threads vanish with every cycle until his meditation finally came to an end, forcefully pulling him out of that strange inner world.
"..."
The first thing that greeted him was an unbearable stench.
His senses barely had time to adjust before his nostrils screamed in protest. Looking down, he immediately found the source. His entire body was coated in a thick, black substance that resembled tar far more than liquid.
And it smelled horrifying.
"This happened before..."
The sight reminded him of the day before departing for the mission, when he had formed the triplet petals and his body expelled a similar impurity.
This time, however, the difference was impossible to ignore.
The black substance was far denser, darker, and the smell was several times worse. It had spread well beyond his body, staining the sofa beside him and splattering part of the nearby walls.
Silas glanced around before letting out a long sigh.
"Am I supposed to clean all of this by myself?"
Despite the dreadful task awaiting him, he couldn’t bring himself to feel annoyed. He had finally found a way to purify his Mana Heart from the curse that had plagued it for days.
That thought alone was enough to keep a faint smile on his face as he began the exhausting cleanup.
***
"Do you think Silas is alright?"
Back on the team’s floating platform, Lara finally voiced the concern that had been lingering in everyone’s mind.
"He hasn’t been acting like himself lately."
Silence settled over the group. Almost instinctively, everyone’s gaze shifted toward the two people who seemed most likely to know the answer.
"Don’t look at me."
Darius raised both hands with a shrug.
"I’m not a mind reader."
No one seemed convinced, and their attention soon shifted to Cher instead.
She let out a quiet sigh.
"I tried asking him..."
She didn’t need to finish the sentence. The disappointment on her face was answer enough.
Terio broke the silence.
"Perhaps he’s simply exhausted. He pushed himself beyond his limits during that mission, and fighting a dragon isn’t exactly something a person walks away from without consequences."
His explanation was reasonable, yet none of them looked convinced. They had known Silas long enough to recognise that something deeper was troubling him. He had never been the type to show exhaustion so openly.
"Speaking of the dragon..."
Alfred cleared his throat before taking a bottle from his portable device.
"Shouldn’t we drink this?"
His words left everyone on edge. Although each of them was eager to consume the dragon blood, they resisted the temptation, hoping Silas would recover so they could undergo the transformation together.
Five days passed, yet instead of improving, Silas’s condition only continued to worsen.
"I think we should prepare for the worst."
Cher broke the silence as she took out another bottle.
"If he doesn’t recover before the mission begins, we’ll have to protect him ourselves."
A heavy silence settled over them.
Everyone understood what she meant. Cher no longer believed Silas would recover in time, which meant they could no longer rely on him as they always had. Throughout the previous mission, he had been the pillar holding the team together, carrying them through countless dangers with calm judgment. This time, however, they would have to shoulder that burden themselves.
"In that case..."
Darius pulled out his own bottle and studied the shimmering orange liquid inside.
"We have fifteen days before the mission starts. Absorbing the dragon blood should take around ten days, which leaves us five more to adapt to our new abilities and train together."
He let out a quiet sigh.
"It’s still a shame Silas won’t be going through it with us."
His gaze lingered on the bottle, though no one could tell what was running through his mind.
"We can’t keep waiting."
Unlike the others, Alfred showed no hesitation.
"So let’s do it."
He uncorked the bottle and swallowed the entire contents in one gulp.
The clearing fell silent as everyone watched him. Curiosity outweighed everything else, and they waited for his reaction without saying a word.
"It tastes..."
He smacked his lips before grinning.
"...not bad at all."
"How does it feel?"
Lara leaned forward, unable to hide her curiosity.
Alfred paused for a moment before bursting into laughter.
"Like drinking lava."
His excitement completely overshadowed the searing heat spreading through his body. The pain hardly mattered compared to the anticipation of becoming stronger. More than anything, he couldn’t wait to discover what the dragon blood would awaken within him.
"Ouch!"
"It hurts!"
Lara was the next to drink it, and the moment the liquid slid down her throat, she doubled over in pain, clutching her stomach as though she had swallowed molten metal.
Fortunately, the agony only lasted a few minutes before gradually fading.
"I think..."
Her eyes suddenly lit up.
"It’s working!"
She jumped to her feet and began dancing with her squirrels, her excitement making everyone else smile despite the tense atmosphere.
"Let’s do it."
Cher glanced at Darius and Terio before the three of them drank their dragon blood together.
After enduring the same burning agony coursing through their bodies, Darius turned toward Cher.
"So... what happens now?"
"Why is it always me?"
She rolled her eyes, though she already knew the answer. During the past few days, she had bombarded her supporter with countless questions about dragon blood, making her the most knowledgeable person in the group.
Darius wasn’t merely teasing her.
Even Lara abandoned her squirrels and sat down to listen.
Seeing everyone’s attention focused on her, Cher cleared her throat, composed herself, and began repeating everything her supporter had told her.
"The absorption process takes around ten days. During that time, your bodies will gradually adapt to the dragon blood. Your abilities should become stronger, and some may even evolve or mutate. A few of you might awaken entirely new abilities..."
She paused for a moment.
"But there’s a catch."
"If you continue training your current abilities during these ten days, the dragon blood won’t grant you a new one. Instead, it will evolve the abilities you already possess. However, if you leave them dormant, the dragon blood will awaken an entirely new ability."
"Does it really matter?" Lara asked cheerfully. "Whether our abilities evolve or we gain new ones, both sound amazing."
"No, it matters a great deal."
Cher looked around at everyone, recognising the same expressions she had worn that morning when her supporter had explained the choice to her.
"We need to take this seriously."
Her tone unconsciously mirrored his, carrying the same unwavering gravity.
"The problem is that any new ability granted by the dragon blood is completely random. Choosing a new one means accepting a gamble."
"And unlocking a new ability will weaken the old one greatly."
She paused before continuing.
"If your current abilities are reliable and valuable, then strengthening them is the safer path."
Her gaze slowly swept across the group.
"But if you believe your abilities aren’t good enough, then you can take the risk and hope the dragon blood grants you something stronger."
Finally, she pointed at herself.
"As for me, I’m satisfied with my abilities. I’d rather see them evolve than risk replacing them."
Her explanation dispelled the confusion, and silence settled over the group as everyone weighed the decision.
"My ability isn’t bad," Lara said first. "I’m curious to see what it becomes after evolving."
"Mine is terrifying enough already," Terio added with a grin, speaking right after Lara as he recently developed the habit. "I’d rather make it even stronger."
Alfred rubbed his stomach absentmindedly.
"Something tells me we’ll need much tougher scales if we want to survive our next mission."
One after another, everyone made their choice until only Darius remained silent. Feeling every gaze settle on him, he drew a slow breath.
"My ability is... trash."
The bitter confession escaped before he could stop it.
Compared to Cher’s Blazing Star, Terio’s Dragon Breath, and Alfred’s Dragon Scales, his ability felt painfully ordinary. Even Lara’s taming ability, despite its low success rate, seemed far more useful.
Not to mention Silas...
His thoughts lingered on his friend.
’I...’
’I want to be as strong as him.’
Without realising it, he clenched both fists.
"I won’t use my ability during these ten days."
His voice grew firmer with every word.
"I need something stronger... something deadlier... something worthy of standing beside all of you."
His determination left the group speechless. Admitting the weakness of one’s own ability was difficult enough; willingly betting everything on an uncertain future required even greater resolve.
"Then it’s settled."
With Darius’ decision made, everyone’s path had been chosen.
"Starting now, everyone except Darius will continue training their abilities."
She turned toward him.
"That makes you our training captain."
"Observe every change our abilities go through, record everything, and figure out how we can fight together more effectively."
Darius immediately understood her intention.
Once they finished absorbing the dragon blood, only five days would remain before the mission. His job was to eliminate wasted time by documenting everyone’s changes, helping them understand their new powers, and refining their teamwork as quickly as possible.
’I just hope you made the right decision...’
Cher watched him nod, unable to silence the worry growing in her heart.
’After all...’
’You possess that other unique ability as well.’
The thought made her chest tighten.
The greatest reason she had refused the gamble wasn’t her Blazing Star, but her second unique ability, one she desperately wanted to strengthen rather than get weakened.
’I only hope you won’t regret choosing not to evolve your Dark Prophet ability.’