Silence lingered within the office after Evelisse covered herself once more.
The grotesque purple veins disappeared beneath the dark fabric of her cloak, yet the image remained burned into Rio's mind. Those scars did not resemble survival. They resembled something that should have died long ago yet continued existing through sheer refusal alone.
Evelisse quietly sat back down afterward, taking another slow sip of tea.
"You understand now?" she asked calmly. "There is no miracle cure for mana collapse."
Rio remained silent.
His thoughts slowly drifted elsewhere.
Lucivar.
That overwhelming pressure.
That helplessness he felt while kneeling before him.
The humiliation.
His fists slowly clenched.
At first, his only thought had been restoring his mana circuits somehow. Finding a method. Returning to how things once were.
But now—
after hearing Evelisse's words—
something inside him shifted.
No.
Not shifted.
Collapsed.
Because for the first time, Rio truly understood something.
Even if he restored them…
Even if he somehow regained mana…
He would still remain within the same system as everyone else.
The same structure.
The same limitations.
And against monsters like Lucivar—
would that truly matter?
Astarax quietly watched his thoughts from within the spirit space.
Then slowly—
she spoke.
[You've realized it too.]
Rio's golden eyes narrowed slightly.
Arcane.
Unlike mana, it did not require circulation.
It did not depend on affinity.
It acknowledged existence itself.
Not the body.
Not biology.
The self.
Slowly, Rio lifted his head.
"Professor."
Evelisse glanced toward him lazily. "Hm?"
Rio's voice remained calm.
"What if I stopped trying to restore them entirely?"
Silence.
Evelisse's brows faintly furrowed.
"What?"
"My mana circuits."
"I don't intend to repair them anymore."
The room quieted.
Even Evelisse's expression shifted slightly hearing that.
Then Rio slowly continued.
"Mana flows through circuits."
"Arcane does not."
"It doesn't respond to structure. It responds to existence itself."
His golden eyes slowly lowered toward his own hand.
"If that's true…"
"…then I don't need to restore my mana."
A faint ripple distorted the air around him unconsciously.
"I simply need something else to power my core."
For the first time since this conversation began—
Evelisse fully sat upright.
Because the moment those words left his mouth—
she understood exactly what he was implying.
And it was insane.
Absolutely insane.
"You…" her voice lowered slightly, "…you want to use Arcane itself as a replacement source?"
Rio didn't answer immediately.
Because even saying it aloud sounded absurd.
Human mana cores were designed for mana.
Not Arcane.
Arcane was not energy in the same sense. It was closer to a concept. A recognition. Something external yet deeply personal.
Trying to directly connect Arcane to a mana core—
should have been impossible.
And yet—
Rio's thoughts remained steady.
Because he remembered Elise's words perfectly.
"Mana obeys structure."
"Arcane reshapes it."
If Arcane could reshape structure itself—
then why couldn't it reshape a broken core?
Why couldn't it create a new pathway entirely?
Astarax's voice slowly echoed again.
[Dangerous.]
[But… possible.]
Evelisse stared at Rio silently now.
Her sharp intellect was already processing the implications.
If someone truly succeeded in what Rio suggested…
They would no longer be limited by affinity.
Or circulation.
Or conventional mana laws.
They would become something fundamentally different from every mage and swordsman alive.
A being powered directly through Arcane itself.
"…Do you understand," Evelisse finally said quietly, "how catastrophic failure would be?"
Rio calmly looked toward her.
"No."
"But I understand one thing."
His eyes darkened slightly.
"I refuse to remain weak."
Silence followed afterward.
Long.
Heavy.
Then unexpectedly—
Evelisse smiled.
Not mockingly.
Not arrogantly.
But with genuine intrigue.
"…You are either completely insane…"
Her violet eyes sharpened.
"…or standing at the edge of something humanity has never attempted before."
...
"Powering a mana core using Arcane…"
Evelisse slowly repeated the words as if trying to process how absurd they sounded aloud.
Then—
she laughed.
Not mockingly.
But out of genuine disbelief.
"That is complete insanity."
Her violet eyes locked onto Rio sharply.
"A feat that has never once been achieved throughout all of recorded history."
She slowly stood up from her chair afterward, her expression now completely serious.
"From the Dark Era until today…"
"Not a single person alive has attempted something so ridiculous."
Rio remained silent.
Meanwhile Evelisse continued.
"The ancient sorcerers who wielded Arcane…"
"…used it only as support."
"To amplify mana."
"To reinforce spells."
"To reshape existing structures."
"But never…"
Her eyes narrowed.
"…never as a direct replacement for mana itself."
The room slowly fell quiet again.
Because what Rio was suggesting completely violated humanity's understanding of power.
Mana and Arcane had always coexisted separately.
Mana was fuel.
Arcane was authority.
One powered the body.
The other influenced reality itself.
Trying to directly connect Arcane to a mana core—
was like forcing lightning into a human heart and expecting it to beat normally afterward.
"It would destroy you," Evelisse said coldly.
"Your core was designed for mana circulation since birth."
"Arcane possesses no stable flow pattern."
"No affinity structure."
"No circulation laws."
"It is fundamentally unstable to humans."
Her gaze sharpened further.
"If you force Arcane directly into your core…"
"…your existence itself could collapse."
Rio quietly listened to every word.
Yet—
his expression barely changed.
Because deep down—
he already understood the risk.
But he also understood something else.
Lucivar.
That overwhelming monster.
If Rio merely returned to normal—
he would never surpass that wall.
Never.
Slowly—
Rio lowered his gaze toward his own hand.
"I don't care."
Then—
for the first time—
Evelisse saw something unsettling within him.
Conviction.
Not desperation.
Not blind ambition.
But the calm resolve of someone willing to destroy themselves if it meant reaching greater heights.
Astarax quietly watched from within his spirit space.
Then slowly—
she spoke.
[You truly intend to walk this path?]
Rio answered internally without hesitation.
Yes.
Silence lingered afterward.
Then—
unexpectedly—
Astarax laughed softly.
Ancient.
Proud.
Dangerous.
[Good.]
[Then stop thinking like a human mage.]
Rio's eyes narrowed slightly.
[If Arcane acknowledges existence itself…]
[Then your core does not need to remain what it once was.]
The moment those words echoed—
Rio froze slightly.
Meanwhile—
Evelisse's eyes suddenly widened as if she arrived at the same conclusion simultaneously.
"…No."
Her voice lowered.
"…You're not trying to restore your core at all."
Rio slowly lifted his head.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"No."
"I'll build something entirely new instead."
Evelisse quietly stared at Rio for several long moments.
Then—
unexpectedly—
she chuckled.
A genuine chuckle.
One filled with disbelief rather than mockery.
"You're absolutely insane, Zio Norken."
Rio remained silent.
Meanwhile Evelisse slowly leaned back into her chair, crossing one leg over the other once again.
"To abandon restoring your mana circuits entirely…"
"…and instead attempt to create an entirely new core powered through Arcane itself…"
She shook her head slightly.
"Even the sorcerers from the Dark Era would call you mad."
Yet despite her words—
there was interest in her eyes now.
No.
More than interest.
Curiosity.
Because if Rio somehow succeeded…
Humanity's entire understanding of power could change forever.
Unfortunately—
after a brief silence—
Evelisse sighed.
"But sadly…"
"…I can't help you."
Rio's eyes narrowed slightly.
Evelisse calmly continued.
"My understanding of Arcane is limited."
"I can perceive it."
"I can utilize fragments of it alongside mana."
"But true mastery?"
She shook her head.
"No."
"Arcane is not my field."
Her violet eyes sharpened slightly afterward.
"And creating an Arcane-based core…"
"…requires someone far beyond me."
Silence filled the room briefly.
Then Rio asked quietly,
"Who?"
Evelisse slowly opened one of the drawers within her desk before pulling out a blank sheet of paper.
She calmly began writing.
Her handwriting was elegant and sharp.
Meanwhile Rio quietly observed.
After several moments—
she folded the letter before handing it toward him.
"Take this to Christopher."
Rio caught the letter slowly.
"The vice headmaster?"
Evelisse nodded.
"If there's anyone within Mythralis Academy capable of helping you…"
"…it's him."
Her expression darkened slightly afterward.
"Christopher Nova is one of the few humans alive who truly understands Arcane."
Not theory.
Not fragments.
Understands it.
"He rarely teaches anymore," Evelisse continued quietly. "Most students don't even realize how terrifying he actually is."
A faint smile appeared on her face.
"To them he's merely the vice headmaster."
"But during the previous generation…"
"…he was known as one of the greatest Arcane scholars on the continent."
Rio's eyes narrowed slightly.
Arcane scholar.
That title alone carried immense weight.
Evelisse then rested her chin against her hand lazily.
"Whether he agrees to help you or not…"
"…depends entirely on your worth."
Her violet eyes met Rio's golden ones directly.
"Christopher despises mediocrity more than anyone I know."
Then—
a faint smirk appeared on her lips.
"But honestly?"
"I think he'll find you interesting."
Very interesting.