Turning
chapter-177

That he had become something like a big demon was beyond his imagination. However, seeing Kanna's joy, he thought it might not be so bad after all. She added a few more words about Gayle and Doyle before swiftly moving on to the next topic.

"Actually, this is the main point, but the conversation got a bit lengthy. Yuder, yesterday Yulman said he finished all the preparations. He stayed alone after the festival and experimented with the materials, which, surprisingly, seems to have gone exceptionally well.”

The Elder Mage of the Pearl Tower, Thais Yulman, had been preparing to transfer the power of the Red Stone into another medium like a magic tool, then dissect the now-empty stone shell and its divided power. Given the preparation, which involved casting several layers of protection around the stone and procuring expensive materials from Kisiar, it seemed about time for a result.

"Really?"

"Yes. He said there would be no problem transferring the power as long as the preparations were properly done, and that he would proceed with the task tonight. The Commander will be attending, and I'll be going too. Yuder, can you... join us?”

"I will definitely go."

There was no reason to keep lying in bed, as his body was fully recovered. If it hadn't been for the Cavalry members who kept visiting, he would have already gone out to do something.

"That's a relief."

With a happy smile, Kanna told him about the progress of the special training she had been leading. There were many members who were thirsty for a method to further develop their power, not only Gakane and Kanna. Recently, there were always people at the training ground, even late into the night, who gathered voluntarily to train.

"Since everyone has different powers, just thinking together about how to train to become stronger feels helpful. I worry if we're doing it right, though…"

Yuder felt a warm sensation rising within him as he looked at Kanna's twinkling face. In his past life, he had never had these conversations with comrades, thus he had never felt this way before. He wondered if things would have been different if he had had the chance before. A twinge of regret crept in.

"Oh, did I talk too much? You must have been tired from dealing with the manifestation. I'm sorry."

"It's okay."

Yuder replied tersely, then added, worried that his response might have come off as cold.

"There's no better way to develop than to enjoy training. Thanks to your help during the party, I was able to finish the task much more easily. You're doing great, so don't worry."

"Do you really think so?"

Kanna's lips curled into a smile that reached her ears.

"I feel invigorated. Thank you, Yuder."

Looking at her now, he couldn't find the stony-faced girl who stood in line for the entrance exam a few months ago. Whether due to the increased sense of responsibility from managing the Cavalry or serving as Deputy, her eyes were now heavier, yet they radiated clear trust and warm friendship towards Yuder.

"Oh, right. If you have time, would you like to train with us? Everyone would be really happy if you could join, even if it's not as much as you helped Gakane and me."

"I'll do it."

"Really?"

Kanna looked surprised, her mouth agape at the certainty in Yuder's response.

"I already have the authority to modify the training schedule for the entire team from the Commander... and there are some things I wanted to teach."

"A training plan? Oh my! I can't wait. We have to tell the others!"

It was a bit doubtful whether they'd still look forward to it after the training changed to something hellish, but Kanna seemed resilient enough. Yuder watched as Kanna, excited, ran outside, promising to meet in the evening. He mentally added attending tonight's experiment to his schedule.

"It's time for your medicine. Take it."

Not long after Kanna left, Enon opened the curtain, offering a bowl with a grave face. Yuder sighed lightly as he stared at the ominously shimmering liquid, then he gulped it down.

"We've put in herbs good for energy replenishment, but the taste is truly terrible. How can you drink it so well without even a word of complaint? I thought Enon was making poison at first. Maybe it's because you two have known each other from the start?"

Lusan, who had been watching from afar, laughed with a fascinated expression. From a brief exchange between Yuder and Enon when Lusan first arrived in the medical division, Lusan guessed that they must have been close. Since they had indeed known each other before, Enon didn't bother correcting the misunderstanding.

"Stop chattering, kid. If you have time to watch, go do more tidying up. Have you finished what you were doing earlier?"

"Ah... No, I seem to have forgotten."

After Lusan hurriedly disappeared deeper into the medical division, Enon quietly looked down at Yuder. When he offered the bowl back, Enon abruptly spoke.

"It's strange."

"What is?"

"Before coming here, I thought all Awakeners would be like you. But after being here, I see that's not the case. No one is as outstanding as you, and no one else wavers as you do."

Waver? What? Yuder swallowed his questions and responded.

"What do you mean, I'm wavering?"

"Your energy."

Enon's eyes gleamed heavily, as if penetrating something.

"It's more stable than when I saw it before, but it's still... different somehow. You're hiding something, aren't you?"

He had already told Enon everything about returning from the future. What else could he be hiding? Yuder, puzzled, suddenly looked down at his gloved hand, and gasped quietly.

'Could he be referring to the spot? The spot has a strong effect on the body; maybe he sensed it that way.'

Enon might be able to discover something unknown by seeing the spot. Yuder had no intention of keeping it a secret from him, but their conversation was cut short when Lusan returned.

"Enon! Please come over here for a moment. I can't handle this alone!"

"..."

"I have a hunch... I'll tell you later, Enon. Thanks for the medicine."

"It's my job, isn't it? Just don't do anything reckless. I heard your conversation with that girl earlier, you're planning something tonight."

He heard the conversation with Kanna. Yuder hesitated over what to reply, decided to keep the Red Stone a secret for now, and opened his mouth.

"I'm not doing much. Just something to... investigate underground."

"Does it have something to do with the massive concentration of power there?"

Indeed, Enon was different from the rest. Yuder maintained his silence and then nodded.

"Yes."

"I've noticed a few mages around as well. I can't fathom what the leader of your unrecognizable lot is planning to do here. World domination, perhaps?"

It seemed that Enon had yet to have a face-to-face encounter with Kishiar. Curious about what judgment he would pass after seeing Kishiar, Yuder faintly curled the corner of his lips in a smile.

"I dare say it's quite the opposite, actually..."

"What?"

"Enon, quick!"

"He's calling you. Aren't you going?"

At Yuder's gesture following the urgent call from Lusan, Enon tightly sealed his thin lips and turned away. Almost simultaneously, the door flung open from the other side, and several Cavalry members exclaimed in surprise.

"Wow! This place is amazing!"

"Yuder! Yuder Aile is here, right? Where is he?"

It seemed like another round of non-visiting visits was about to start. Yuder closed his eyes and sighed.

—---

"Yuder, you came quickly."

When evening came, and no one else was visiting him, Yuder put on his uniform over his casual clothes and stepped outside the medical division. At the central staircase leading down to the first basement level, Kanna, who was waiting for him, greeted him with a small smile.

"Let's go. Yulman, Alik, they're all waiting."

The basement, which he was visiting for the first time since before the party, resembled a legendary mage's cave, filled with even more magic circles and peculiar objects scattered around the Red Stone.

"Master Yulman! We're here."

"Oh! It's good to see familiar faces."

Thais Yulman, who was bustling around preparing something inside, approached the two of them. Yuder noticed that his normally neatly groomed beard was wildly unkept and smeared with an unidentifiable golden substance. His eyes, probably due to the impending grand experiment, gleamed with an almost manic fervor.

"I heard you were not feeling well, Yuder. You seem better now."

"Yes, I am fine now."

"Good. Missing such a historic experiment would have truly been a tragedy."

He led Kanna and Yuder closer to the Red Stone. As they passed through several magic circles, the previously unseen interior gradually became more distinct.

They saw the Red Stone and clusters of black gems neatly placed inside a box carved from a transparent magic stone. In the background, Thais's apprentice, Alik Pelgin, was stirring a pot filled with a liquid that shimmered like molten gold, muttering something under his breath with a grimace on his face. His eyes, blazing with a similar madness as his aged master's, and his face shadowed to the chin, gave him an almost spectral appearance.