The Prophet and the Guardian (3)
“It’s common knowledge that divine power and mana are polar opposites. But every human is born with both divine power and mana dwelling within them.”
Sage lifted the mana stone that had been resting on the desk.
The red light swirling inside it looked like a vortex.
“Whether someone has more aptitude for one or the other is simply a matter of proportion.”
Most humans were born with a roughly fifty-fifty ratio of mana to divine power.
Those with a higher concentration of mana usually walked the path of mages or knights, while those with more divine power often became priests.
“But unlike humans, monsters are beings made entirely of mana.”
A mana stone composed of pure mana would either be destroyed by divine power or, conversely, corrupt it.
“So the fact that traces of divine power were detected in a mana stone taken from a monster’s body…”
There was only one conclusion they could draw.
Someone possessing divine power strong enough to leave a trace had touched that stone at some point.
“Master, does that mean…”
Edwin had been frowning in deep concentration for a while before he finally spoke.
“Does this suggest that mutant monsters are connected to someone like a priest?”
“Yes. It sounds insane, I know.”
He really didn’t earn the title of Sage for nothing.
While I stared at Sage in silence, Edwin raised an objection.
“But that doesn’t make any sense!”
“Why not?”
“The mana stones inside monsters only form after a certain amount of time has passed, right?”
Naturally occurring mana stones were crystals formed by condensed mana, so they took a long time to develop.
The same principle applied to the stones that formed inside monsters; they required time for the mana to condense.
For a simple example, the mana stones from monsters that had only recently come into existence were no larger than half a fingernail.
“If there are traces of divine power in a mana stone inside a monster’s body, that would mean someone reached inside and touched it, unless…”
“If they had, the monster would have died long ago. Most mana stones form near the heart, after all.”
Sage picked up the red mana stone again, his expression grave.
“As I mentioned earlier, this is an artificially created mana stone. After the first natural stones were discovered, countless mages and scholars worked to replicate them. This is the result of those efforts.”
He suddenly pulled a thick book from the shelf that covered an entire wall.
When he flipped past the dust-covered cover, strange diagrams and complex formulas appeared.
“As you can see in this book, the raw material for mana stones is mana itself. As long as you have an ore capable of holding mana, creating a stone is surprisingly simple.”
In short, if several mages poured their mana to the absolute limit into a very hard mineral, they could produce a mana stone.
“However, artificially created stones cannot withstand the passage of time. Unlike naturally occurring ones, which grow stronger with age.”
The lifespan of an artificial mana stone was at most two years.
That made sense. Unlike the infinite mana that existed in nature, the mana humans could directly infuse had clear limits.
“But around three hundred years ago, one mage succeeded in creating an artificial mana stone more powerful than any natural one.”
This was the first I had ever heard of it.
If that were true, artificial stones should have completely replaced natural ones long ago.
“I’ve never heard anything like that.”
“Well, you wouldn’t have.”
Sage gave a bitter smile at my words.
“It’s a method that was forbidden after the Great War.”
The old sage looked back and forth between me and Edwin, then lowered his voice dramatically.
As if he were revealing a great secret.
“The method involved turning the mage himself into a mana stone.”
Turning a human into a mana stone?
That does sound like something those people would come up with.
I frowned without saying a word.
“That’s impossible…”
Meanwhile, Edwin stood with his mouth agape, looking utterly shocked.
Sage showed the boy a folded sheet of paper that had been tucked between the pages of the book.
It was covered in anatomical diagrams of the human body intertwined with bizarre magical formulas.
“What is this, Master?”
“What do you think? It’s the method for turning a mage into a mana stone.”
Wait, hadn’t he just said it was a technique forbidden since the Great War?
Just how old was this geezer? How in the world did he get his hands on a forbidden book from at least two hundred years ago?
And more importantly, did he really grab something like that when he fled Luxen? His hands must be quick.
“It’s completely messed up, isn’t it?”
Sage let out a scornful laugh and traced the diagram with his finger.
“It doesn’t just use the four elemental magics. It even includes disgusting shamanistic rituals that only necromancers would use.”
He kindly continued his explanation for the two of us, who were staring at him in confusion.
“To turn a mage into a mana stone, you need a mage with extremely high mana affinity. Then several other mages pour all their mana into that person’s body to trap an enormous amount of power inside their flesh.”
It was, of course, only theoretical.
I raised one eyebrow.
“You mean forcing them into a state of mana overload? Wouldn’t they die?”
Too much of anything was worse than too little.
The same applied to mana.
The amount of mana a mere human could handle alone was limited.
It was only natural that exceeding that limit would result in death.
“There are always exceptions. What did I just say? I mentioned a mage with high mana affinity.”
“Mana affinity?”
“A constitution that can absorb mana indefinitely. It’s an extremely rare trait that appears maybe once in a thousand years.”
Hmm. So they keep pouring mana into a mage with that kind of constitution.
In that case, it would indeed be possible to create a living mana stone.
“A mage turned into a mana stone becomes a literal human weapon. According to the ancient records, the magic cast by such a person is powerful enough to reshape the terrain and slaughter a thousand soldiers in a single strike.”
“Master.”
At that moment, Edwin raised his hand as if something had been bothering him.
“I have a question.”
“Go on.”
“You said earlier that turning a mage into a mana stone was a bad method. But if they don’t die and only become stronger, wouldn’t that actually be a good thing?”
He had a point.
Mages were the type who constantly sought greater power. Some might even welcome becoming a mana stone.
“Ah, I forgot to mention that part.”
Sage stroked his beard and added lightly.
“There is one flaw in a mage who has become a mana stone.”
“What is it?”
“An immortal body.”
A living mana stone would not die even if stabbed by a sword, struck by magic, or poisoned.
They could only continue living until the mana dwelling within their body was completely exhausted.
“That’s why it was forbidden. Immortality is far too great a blessing for a human to bear.”
A blessing that was too great could become a curse in its own way.
To be forced to continue living regardless of one’s own will.
In that sense, I suppose I’m in a similar situation.
My mouth suddenly felt dry.
I thought my life had ended, yet here I am, still living it.
While I was unexpectedly lost in bitter reflection, Edwin furrowed his brow as if he couldn’t understand at all.
“An immortal body? Wouldn’t that be better?”
Edwin tilted his head, genuinely puzzled.
“If you can’t get hurt or be affected by poison, that sounds wonderful.”
How naive.
No matter how much he had grown, a child was still a child.
I glanced at him and changed the subject.
“But what does any of this have to do with this mana stone?”
The stone on the desk continued to sparkle with its seductive red glow.
Sage bared his teeth at my question.
“My, aren’t you impatient. I haven’t finished explaining yet.”
He cleared his throat and continued.
“The mage who gained an immortal body is said to have lived as a loyal servant to one kingdom until the end of the Great War.”
Unlike Edwin, who looked confused, I immediately noticed the inconsistency.
“That’s strange. An immortal who obtained such power would really serve under someone?”
That didn’t sound like human nature at all.
Throughout history, when humans gained overwhelming power, their instinct was to stand above others.
At least, every human I had ever encountered had been that way.
“Right? It is strange, isn’t it?”
Sage snapped his fingers at my words.
“That was the biggest reason this method was forbidden. Once turned into a mana stone, a human had no choice but to obey the commands of those who infused them with mana.”
To have one’s free will stripped away the moment their life as a human ended.
In the end, they became nothing more than a consumable tool—a mana stone.
“Once the Mages’ Association learned of this, they staged a protest. The mage who developed the spell was executed, and the mages who had been turned into living mana stones vanished without a trace.”
Sage shrugged and lifted the mana stone once more.
“It’s not certain, but my guess is that this stone was created by applying that very technique.”
“What? So you’re saying…”
“It’s highly likely that someone deliberately created these mutant monsters using this stone.”
That would explain why traces of divine power remained on the stone.
If someone had created monsters using the stones, they would have touched them first.
So this is a mana stone created by adapting the technique used to make living mana stones.
I narrowed my eyes.
That meant the mutant monsters could have a master as well.
“So in other words…”
Meanwhile, Edwin had been thinking hard, his face scrunched up.
“You’re saying someone is creating and controlling mutant monsters with these stones, Master?”
He continued slowly, as if he truly didn’t want to believe it.
“And that someone possesses incredibly strong divine power.”