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Hoyeol was busy. The books that Grandfell took out from his estate’s library were about the fundamentals of Magic and their applications. But as complicated as they first seemed to be, for Hoyeol, he found them quite easy. Heck, it’s even easier compared to the books I had to read when I was still at University.
Holding up his right palm, a flame appeared. He noticed that compared to an actual skill the amount of Mana he could use was quite rather minimal. With a random memory of several Webnovels and Webtoons he read as a teen that mentioned using Science to improve Magic, he thought of trying the same.
Okay, Mana is energy. It follows the principles of ‘Exploration’, ‘Interference’, and ‘Manifestation.’ Aside from the Mana inside me, Mana is in the very air and environment that I am in.
Hoyeol took a deep breath and concentrated. Compress the fire. Shape it thin like an arrow and make it spin. The appearance of the fire changed into a fire arrow that spun. Even without testing, Hoyeol could sense the increase in power and damage it could deal if he directed the fire arrow somewhere. But considering that he was at home, he soon after stopped the spell which made the fire arrow vanish.
“That was new. Did you find the fire arrow spell in those books?” Grandfell asked as he was coming out of the bathroom. His wet body was merely covered by a towel on his waist and he had another towel being rubbed on his hair.
The Korean returned his eyes to the books and notes that he was doing. He ignored the fact that Grandfell was naked under those towels of his and waited for the man to finish so he could also take a bath before they headed to bed. “It was a simple [Ignition] spell that I modified using the concepts of science,” Hoyeol answered. “Adding centrifugal force and compressing the fireball which is the default shape of the flames into something like an arrow would make it all the more explosive. But I think adding a high concentration of oxygen to the fire itself would give a further larger combustible effect on the flames.”
The sound of footsteps and Grandfell moving about could be heard. Peeking up, Hoyeol saw how his husband was busy of drying himself up with the towels and thought of the wind spell he had seen and practiced earlier.
Small gusts of wind appeared on Hoyeol’s palm and he imagined it being gentle and warm as he applied ‘Exploration’, ‘Interference’, and ‘Manifestation’. His imagination and the picture he painted in his mind involved Grandfell becoming comfortably dry. He sent the wind that grew larger to his husband and was worried he made a mistake when Grandfell gasped and turned towards him with wide eyes.
“Hoyeol…”
Shrinking in on himself, the Korean thought that he must have made a mistake. “Wait, did I hurt you? If yes, I’m sorry. I won’t try to do Magic on you ever again,” Hoyeol hastily stated as he thought about where he went wrong. After all, Magic was something he realized he could do easily as long as he pictured it in his head. And imagining and visualizing things were something Hoyeol was quite rather adept at so it was what made him confident regarding the use of Magic.
Hoyeol had his head down as he flipped the pages of his notes. His eyes were scanning what he had written, searching for the points he may have missed which was probably the reason why Grandfell was hurt. “I’m sorry,” he said again. But then, Hoyeol was startled when he felt a hand grab his face and Grandfell turned it up by holding his chin.
“My dearly beloved wife, for someone so intelligent, you can be so silly.”
Onyx eyes widened as Grandfell kissed him. It was a mere press of lips but Hoyeol felt himself blushing and heating up. “Grandfell!” The Korean pressed a hand to his lips upon the other letting him go. He glared up at his husband and reminded him, “Didn’t we agree to take things slow?!”
“Yes, we did,” Grandfell stated as his thumb brushed Hoyeol’s lips. “But you tempt me so much, my love.” His gray eyes bore down unto Hoyeol and the hunger in them has the Korean trembling. Grandfell however suppressed that hunger and the glint in his eyes softened to that of undying love. The thumb he had on Hoyeol’s lips went down and he kissed him on the forehead before letting go.
The vibrant red blush that was on Hoyeol’s face which was the result of the kiss and Grandfell’s sex appeal was gradually fading. For someone who should be thoroughly tempted, Hoyeol found Grandfell’s own self-control endearing. And that forehead kiss…If Hoyeol was a woman, he knew he would have been swooning like a maiden. Nonetheless, he had to be firm. “But still, that is no excuse for you to just kiss me on the lips, Grandfell. You haven’t even brought me out on a proper date and bought me dinner.”
The former avatar cocked his head to the side. “So, if I take you out on a date and buy you dinner, I get the express permission to give you kisses on the lips?”
Hoyeol sighed and covered his face with a hand. “Fine, if that’s what you want then go.” The Korean massaged his forehead as a migraine was threatening to bloom into existence in his head. “Though, I’m curious. You said I’m intelligent yet silly. What do you mean by that?”
“It means what it means, love. You did not hurt me in any way yet you apologized. If anything, I find myself surprised how fast you could use Magic and modify it to your needs.”
“Oh.” That had Hoyeol dropping his hand to look at Grandfell. “But I only gained a copy of your talents. Is it really that surprising if I succeeded in what I intended?”
“Not everyone can do things on their first try. Moreover, things are different when it comes to you, love.”
Hearing those words, Hoyeol shook his head. After which, he stood up and took his own towel to head to the bathroom. “It’s your choice to wait up for me,” was all he said and went with his ablutions. However, along the way, Hoyeol couldn’t stop himself from practicing basic water spells and manipulating them. And so, Hoyeol took his time and by the time he went out his fingers were already pruning.
Hoyeol as he went out of the bathroom then used the same spell that he did on Grandfell and dried himself up which made him realize what his husband felt when it was used on him. With him now dried, he hung his towel and dressed himself up in his underwear. That said, just as he thought of putting on one of his many white shirts and pants, he thought of how Grandfell was like a furnace.
The heat he gave out made Hoyeol forego his usual sleep attire and head to Grandfell’s pile of clothes. He then took one of his button-down shirts and wore it as it was large enough to reach his thighs. “Grandfell, I’m borrowing one of your shirts,” he announced as he did the last button and tested moving around a bit in his new get-up.
There was silence. Curious about why, Hoyeol turned his head to where he last saw Grandfell. It’s like I’m prey and he’s the predator who wants to eat me. “My love, are you going to bed like that?” Hoyeol heard his husband say as a dark velvety undertone to it made the Korean feel hot.
Keep yourself together, Hoyeol. The shorter man berated himself. He forced himself to seem unaffected. “I felt a lot hotter than comfortable when you’re holding me under the sheets. So yeah, I thought lessening the things wrapping around me would help.”
“Is that so? Then, I would be sleeping on the floor tonight,” Grandfell abruptly announced, and that had Hoyeol reacting accordingly even though he already had an idea of the answer, “What?! Why?!”
“You already know why, love.” Grandfell put down the notes he was perusing and was about to go to the cabinet where Hoyeol kept extra pillows, blankets, and that one futon he got as a freebie when he bought his mattress. But, before he could even go far, Hoyeol held his arm.
“No, stay. Sleep beside me, Grandfell. As much as a futon would be soft, it wouldn’t be as comfortable as an actual bed.”
“Hoyeol.”
“Please….,” the Korean pleaded as Grandfell’s presence chased away his own nightmares—the insecurities and problems that he held that sneaked their way into his dreams. He directed his onyx eyes at his husband and batted his eyelashes. To make the killing blow, he entreated, “Hold me, Grandfell.”
Grandfell tensed as his pupils dilated. “You are playing a very dangerous game, my love.” His hand went up to cup Hoyeol’s face. “You say we should slow down and take our time. Yet, here you are approaching and tempting me. It is as if you want to make me snap.”
“I don’t want to make you snap. But I need you, Grandfell.”
Mana.
It was one of the fundamental parts that made the world of Arcana. It was regarded as a form of Energy that was everywhere and could be used by those who were capable. Here, on Earth, Mana was indeed also considered as a form of energy. As for the use of that Mana, it was called 'Magic' as it is the manifestation of Mana affecting the laws of reality. In short, Magic is the process of picturing something and creating it in real life.
That said, the use of Magic on Earth has yet to reach the state where the people of Arcana depended on it to live their lives. After all, Earth has its Sciences which enable the people to use electricity and other forms of energy. As a result of this non-dependence, the people of Earth had little interest in studying Mana and its applied form which is Magic. If anything, anyone from Arcana could see that the Earthlings took Mana for granted and relied heavily on their ‘Skills’ to use Magic. And so, it was in any way not strange that the forms of Magic that can be seen on Earth to be so limited.
But for Grandfell, this sight was being subverted and changed. As a citizen of Arcana, he had recently seen an Earthling who regarded Mana with enough interest as if it was the very Science itself which the people of Earth view so highly. And that person…It was his very own creator and ‘Wife,’ Lee Hoyeol.
His dearly beloved was doing more than just memorizing spells. He was actually learning it and its principles and then trying various things with it to innovate and improve the spells' performance. And so far, Grandfell was seeing a lot of good results. These results even actually remind him a bit of the time when his mother would show him the new spells she would create.
Maybe he could even reach Mother’s level. If not, he could probably go beyond it if there was a chance. To be more than a mere High Tier Mage. It is a possibility since the way he could sense and manipulate Mana is something even I have never seen before. Then, there’s the part that he made himself a Mana Circuit in a matter of a day. The presence of a Mana Circuit in his body itself would make using Magic much more efficient and storing Mana in the body easier.
Gray-colored eyes checked at their owner’s Status Window. The number of status points that they had for Mana increased by five points as Hoyeol meditated and absorbed Mana from their surroundings. The increase was not only reflected in his wife’s Status Window. It also appears in his which was why Grandfell had no problems undertaking the majority of the repeated physical quests that they had that day.
Onyx eyes then fluttered open and the edges of Hoyeol’s lips curled upward. “You’re shaking a lot less these days,” Hoyeol stated as he moved out of his still position. “But how long was I meditating?”
“You meditated the whole morning, love,” Grandfell answered as he was already more than halfway finished with the repeated quest. “With that, you are just right on time. We could have lunch and we could sort through the items that I have in my inventory.”
The two of them then went back home and Hoyeol cooked them a simple yet filling meal that would go well with Grandfell’s standards. And so, they ate while Hoyeol played the television that was showing the news.
Grandfell took note of listening to the various topics that were brought up and found that while eating Hoyeol was manipulating the Mana around him. At first, it was subtle as if nothing was actually happening. However, over time, Grandfell felt that there were changes in temperature and things began moving without anyone physically touching them.
“Love.”
Hoyeol flinched and apologized. Grandfell took his beloved’s hand and assuaged Hoyeol that it was fine. No harm was done and he asked him about the things that he was trying. Grandfell knew that Mana in the environment was moving because of the Magic that Hoyeol cast. That said, what he did not expect was that Hoyeol was utilizing only the Mana in their surroundings to use Magic.
The common way Magic is handled is through Internal Mana Handling, manipulating the Mana stored in the body. It is how Arcana’s inhabitants including the demons and other higher beings of the realm worked. The System in which all players also follow this principle.
But this External Mana Handling…Manipulating the Mana in the surroundings was something that only usually happened through rituals and copious amounts of written runes. Even borrowing the power from artifacts that stored Mana could not be done as easily as Hoyeol did because the Mana in them still had to be absorbed inside the body for Magic to be used. So, for Hoyeol to use only External Mana and easily switch to using both Internal and External Mana at the same time, Grandfell was astounded.
And I thought I was talented and the cheat character but Hoyeol’s talents it seems outshines mine. Without much thought, Grandfell took Hoyeol’s hand which was in his grasp, and kissed each finger.
Compared to his great urge of wanting to kiss Hoyeol’s lips and devour him, this was like a drop to a bottomless container. It hardly satiated Grandfell’s urge to showering affection to his creator and wife. Be that as it may, he remembered to respect Hoyeol’s wish of taking things slow and earning the right to kiss those lips as he wished. Grandfell held himself back and had himself be grateful that Hoyeol was willing to give him this.
As Grandfell was about to say something, blue notification boxes appeared. Their contents had Grandfell looking at Hoyeol and noting that he had a pleased expression on his face.
[You have acquired PASSIVE SKILLS]
[Passive Skills are Skills that can be chosen to be always active that do not use Mana
as they become part of the traits/settings that an individual has.]
[Acquired Passive Skills:]
[MAGIC SENSE] >>
[HYPER COGNITION] >>
Intrigued about the capabilities of these skills, Grandfell let go of Hoyeol’s hand and clicked the arrows to display their descriptions.
[MAGIC SENSE]
[Users can perceive the surrounding Mana to see a full 360 degrees around them, without leaving a single blind spot. By observing the fluctuation of light and sound waves, they can be processed and converted into perceptible data, allowing the user to see and hear their surroundings. With this, one can see in complete darkness as if it were bright as day and can continue fighting even if their eyes and ears were to be crushed. Ambushes become virtually impossible as the user is fully aware of their environment.
Users can also understand and express the intent of spoken words by deciphering sound waves that have willful meaning stored inside them, even if the language of their conversation partner is unknown to them.]
[HYPER COGNITION]
[Users can effortlessly perform complex mental operations that are drastically beyond the capability of a normal human mind, making their mental actions/process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses more powerful than an average person.]
The very description themselves had Grandfell pausing and looking back at all the Passive Skills he heard about that other people acquired. So far, none of them had these two which meant Hoyeol just got them earning something unique.
Smart, creative, and—
“Grandfell?”
“Yes, love?”
“You went all silent.”
“Apologies if I worried. I just got preoccupied with thinking how these could be useful to us.”
After that, they resumed their meal. Grandfell not much sooner was across Hoyeol on the floor as they were about to sort through the items that Grandfell had in his inventory. With the long list of items, Grandfell thought they would probably finish things in a week or so which was why they did not put much ceremony on things and began the sorting.