The Assistant Director saw a fierce, terrifying determination burning in Lumina's eyes. Those words sealed the deal. A magic researcher like her could not simply ignore a person who genuinely wanted to learn the truth. As per her personal academic principles, even if the truth was dangerous, she had to tell it to a curious person, even a kid.
The Assistant Director knelt down and looked Lumina directly in the eyes.
"Actually, there is a way to increase the Mana Capacity," she admitted quietly.
Lumina grabbed the Assistant Director's arms tightly. "Tell me."
The guard reached for his sword, alarmed by the sudden grab, but the Assistant Director waved her hand to calm him down.
"There is no longer research being conducted about increasing the Mana Capacity because it was already concluded five hundred years ago," the Assistant Director explained.
"Uh-huh," Lumina nodded.
"There was a researcher who wanted to prove that increasing Mana Capacity is possible. He conducted an experiment that cost his life." She paused to see if the black-haired kid became terrified, but Lumina did not even flinch.
"The Researcher intentionally exhausted his Mana," the Assistant Director continued. "Not just simple exhaustion. He emptied his Mana. When a person exhausts their Mana, they usually collapse to the ground. But it is a completely different story to actually empty the Mana in the body. That is basically depleting the Mana to absolute zero."
"What happened next?" Lumina asked.
"The experiment was a success. The Researcher's Mana Capacity increased by one percent. He was thirty years old at that time. Meaning, he had already passed the Maturation Cap."
Lumina's eyes widened. "So increasing Mana Capacity is possible?"
She looked down at her trembling hands. "I... I can increase my Mana Capacity."
The Assistant Director looked at Lumina very seriously. "It's possible. You can deplete your Mana to absolute zero."
She paused, then pressed her right index finger gently against Lumina's chest. "But the next thing that will happen is you will die."
Lumina's eyes widened in pure shock.
The Assistant Director stood up. "The Magic Researcher who did that experiment died right after it succeeded. He died within two minutes. His Research Assistant documented everything and published their research. That Magic Researcher became well-known for proving a theory in exchange for his life."
The Assistant Director crossed her arms to deliver the final lesson. "Remember the glass bottle representation? Imagine Mana is air and the Mana Capacity is the glass bottle. If you suck the right amount of air from the bottle, it will be fine. But if you suck all the air from the bottle, the bottle enters a critical condition. There is a high probability it will shatter. Then, if you suck more air out—more than the volume of air the bottle can actually hold—do you know what will happen?"
Lumina hesitated to answer, but she still said it. "The bottle... it will implode."
"That's correct," the Assistant Director confirmed. "It isn't the lack of Mana that kills a person. When you deplete all the Mana, the next thing sucked from the glass bottle is the bottle itself. The moment the body requires Mana beyond what the Mana Capacity allows, the Mana Core begins to crack. When that happens, within two minutes, the Mana Core will shatter. When your Mana Core is destroyed, you will die."
Lumina stared at the floor. "But you said his capacity increased by one percent. How did it grow if it just shatters?"
The Assistant Director nodded. "Because of how it recovers. If a shattered Mana Core somehow manages to mend itself after a long, proper rest, it does not restore perfectly to its original shape. To connect the broken parts together, the Mana Core physically expands itself to fill the empty gaps between the shards. That forced expansion makes the glass bottle slightly bigger."
Celia frowned, entirely confused by the timeline. "Wait. If a person dies within two minutes after it shatters, then how come the Mana Core recovers itself if there is no life remaining?"
"A very good question," the Assistant Director said, a grim shadow passing over her face. "The truth is, he only recovered partially. That researcher was an incredibly powerful Mage. When he intentionally forced his Mana to zero, he immediately drank a massive dose of experimental, high-grade medical elixirs designed to accelerate his body's natural recovery process. It did not save his life, but during those agonizing two minutes before the core ultimately shattered, his body desperately tried to fuse the broken shards together at an extreme speed. It generated new etheric fibers to fill the empty cracks. It managed a partial reconstruction, physically expanding the overall size of the core to bridge those gaps right before his heart stopped. When his assistant measured his corpse, the partially recovered container had expanded by about one percent."
The Assistant Director sighed heavily. "But because a human cannot survive that brutal process to properly document a full recovery, the researchers had to recreate it to see if survival was even possible. They conducted a massive experiment using ten thousand dungeon rats. They forced every single rat to exhaust its Mana to complete zero, deliberately cracking their cores."
Dungeon rats are a unique kind of monster found in low-level dungeons. They possess the unique biological ability to recover their Mana simply by consuming dropped Mana Potions. Much like humans, they have a functioning Mana Core, so researchers frequently use this Fodder-class monster in dangerous magic experiments.
Lumina's breath hitched. "Ten thousand?"
"Yes," the Assistant Director sighed heavily. "And out of those ten thousand rats, exactly one survived. The rest died in agony within the two-minute window. But that single surviving rat proved the theory. When it finally recovered with proper rest, its Mana Capacity was measured. The container had expanded to fill the broken gaps, granting roughly one percent increase. The odds of surviving the shatter are incredibly tiny."
Celia felt a cold sweat form on the back of her neck. A one in ten thousand chance of survival was terrifying.
"What if a person drinks a Mana Potion right before they die?" Celia asked quickly, desperate to find a safer loophole.
"Mana Potions refill Mana instantly, but there is a big problem," the Assistant Director explained. "Mana Potions are not actually Raw Mana. They are alchemical. When the body absorbs the liquid, the core converts it into Mana. But if your Mana Core is not functioning properly, such as when it has cracks all over its surface, then the Mana Potion will fail to convert. That's why it fails."
The Assistant Director crossed her arms. "Researchers actually tried this exact method on a different batch of dungeon rats. When the rat drank a Mana Potion, it failed to convert the liquid to Mana and the rat died anyway. Even if you manage to increase your Mana Capacity, you will only gain around a one percent increase, and the cost of that is a huge gamble with your life. It's not worth it."
She looked at Lumina intently. "You are young, but I believe you are smart enough not to do it, right?"
Lumina looked at the ground. She could not hear the Assistant's warning anymore. The only thing circling in her mind right now were the words she had just heard.
*You have to die many times over before you can make it...*
It was the exact same phrase Kian had told her four days ago. Her heart pounded in her chest.
"Thank you so much for answering our questions," Celia said, bowing her head. "I know your time is valuable, so I have to thank you somehow. Can we pay with silver coins?"
The Assistant Director waved her hands frantically. "Oh, no! Actually, I answered your questions because there is something I want to ask of you. A favor."
"A favor from me?" Celia asked.
"Yes," the Assistant Director said shyly, her cheeks turning slightly pink. "Can I... you see... if you would..."
"What is it?" Celia tilted her head.
The Assistant Director took a deep breath and almost shouted the words. "Can I please touch your ears?!"
She tightly squeezed her eyes shut, entirely embarrassed by her own outburst. Celia stood completely stunned by the simple, strange request.
Ever since I met the Director, I've been wanting to touch her ears, the Assistant Director thought, her hands fidgeting nervously. But I am terrified to ask her. I'm just so curious what it feels like to touch a real elf's ears!
Celia smiled softly. She moved her blonde hair away from the side of her head and gestured with her hand, offering the Assistant Director a polite go-ahead signal.
The Assistant Director reached out with trembling fingers. She gently pinched the tip of Celia's pointed ear.
Oh my goodness! she exclaimed internally, her heart soaring with academic joy. It's so soft! It feels like velvet! Finally, I touched an elf's ear! My life is complete!
"Thank you again, kind lady," Celia said warmly.
Celia and Lumina turned around and walked away from the grand stone building.
A woman with long silver hair walked out of the main doors and approached the Assistant Director, who was still staring at her own fingers with a goofy smile on her face.
"What's going on here?" the silver-haired woman asked.
The Assistant Director jumped, completely startled. "Oh, Director Rho! It's nothing."
The guard immediately bowed to the new arrival. The Director looked at her assistant suspiciously, then she said, "Come to the magic lab. We have more things to do."
"Yes, Director," the Assistant Director replied quickly.
The Director looked out toward the bustling street, but she did not see anyone out of the ordinary. She turned around and went back inside the Institute.