All at once, Layn's world exploded.
From the moment the girl's wet lips rubbed against his mouth, from when her tongue pushed a bit of her saliva inside his mouth, from the moment the two of them joined in a deep kiss…
Not only Layn's lower body reacted. Rather than that, it felt as if a certain innate drive, something hidden deep within him, was moved.
This strange occurrence was clearly a magical reaction… But one that the archmage experienced for the very first time.
And then, as if a sledgehammer smacked itself right into Layn's head. With his body possessing an incredibly high magic affinity, a sudden invasion of the foreign energy shocked and paralyzed the man.
But rather than wreaking havoc inside him or burning his insides only to suck them off later, this push of Irea's mana served like a kick that started the entire chain reaction. The magic that was infused in his flesh started to move.
Feeling the glib tongue of the girl moving around in his mouth, Layn's let himself go in this intimate moment, minding the potential onlookers not. Since Irea was all right with this, he had no reason to refuse her advances.
After all, who was he supposed to be faithful to? His cheating wife that would take several millennia to even be born? No, there was no reason for that at all.
But Irea wasn't going to give him even this little time to think the matters through. Pushing her body against his skin, she wrapped her hands around Layn's head, locking it in place as she continued to exchange saliva with him.
And at the same time, Layn's insides were exploding in both pain and ecstasy. As if some kind of slug was cleared out from his body, as if a certain kind of magic virginity was torn apart, his energy finally started to rotate.
'So that's the idea…' It was impossible for Layn to figure out the magic of the ancients without experiencing it on his own. It was simply so different to what he was used to, that his own expertise would block him from ever understanding it. Only when Irea forced enough energy through her affectionate kiss into his system, did the seed of understanding sprout in Layn's mind.
And in an instant, he noticed several problems with the situation. Instinctively understanding the principle behind what the girl was trying to guide him through right now, Layn reached out with his arms before wrapping them around the girl's waist. Under the guidance of his hands, the girl climbed up his legs, sitting down deeply on his lap.
Entangled as much as two humans could be, the pair of a modern person and an ancient got lost in their own world. While for an inexperienced eye their actions would look no different to just making out, not even a single of the ancients from their group seemed to look at it like that.
"Ah…!" Suddenly breaking the kiss, Irea deprived Layn of the crucial energy that he was using to push his own mana forward. Only now noticing how red the girl's face became and how the light in her eyes seemed to fade, Layn desperately grabbed Irea's shoulders before pushing her away.
'Right… That energy had to come from her, it's no wonder she's exhausted.' Realising what should be obvious, Layn looked at the girl with terror in his eyes. While he was insanely thankful for her showing him the ropes of the ancient magic, he got too absorbed into the euphoria stemming from growing stronger.
"I'm sorry. It seems I'm only capable of helping you out so little…" With her cheeks flushed in red, Irea turned her deep, blue eyes away. With her lips trembling, she clearly was in a sorry state.
A state that would make it rather hard for her to travel under such an intense regime.
"Argh!' Suddenly releasing a pained whine, Layn grabbed his face. Attracting the attention of the other ancients with that move, the archmage could feel the pressure building up.
"Okay, let's tackle the elephant in the room." Using the common saying out of habit, Layn suddenly froze. Even if his translating spell could manage to convey the meaning, there was a huge chance the ancients would still fail to understand the butchered translation. But rather than letting this unplanned accident set him back, Layn quickly refocused his attention.
"How big will be the group of that bastard? I mean, how many and how strong." Looking at how tired the rest of the group was, it was pretty clear that even for them such a long march was pretty taxing. What's more, they were returning from what appeared like a seasonal hunting ground, meaning they were tired from the long hunt in the first place.
"Kerren's? Ugh, if he gathered all his people… Thirdy at the very least. But for a chase like that, I think he would rather go with the elites." Recognising what was going through the head of the new addition to their group, Karter's initial smile turned sour. "Twenty experts, twelve of which are two-stars."
Releasing a long sigh, the leader of the ancients shook his head before explaining.
"You might now understand this kind of power, but in our group, we only have two, two stars experts. It's me and our hunter, Sitra. And as much as I hate to be unable to pull my own weight, I'm still unable to fight at my full strength."
Listening to the explanation, Layn already made his move. Instead of absorbing the energy through his rope to his aura, he used it to propel his inner energy instead. And as surprising as it was, the energy that Irea kissed to him, paled in comparison to the flood that seemed to invade Layn's insides.
"Well, it's manageable then." Winking to the leader before bringing his focus back to the girl on his lap, Layn raised his head and caressed the cheek of the exhausted woman. "I will need you to take some rest now."
Standing up, the archmage pulled the girl along, before grabbing her in a princess carry and resting her down on the ground. Using her own backpack, the archmage made a pillow for the girl, before focusing his eyes on the direction their group came from.
"I might not know the basics, " using the constant flood of energy from his rope, Layn quickly managed to force all the individual strands of flow in his inside to merge into a single drive. As if a whirlpool, all the energy that his body was enriched with from the very beginning, was now steadily revolving around the empty core.
The more energy Layn poured into his insides, the faster the flow became, turning its content even thicker and denser. Soon, the spin of the ephemeral mana inside him was so strong, that his body seemed to start breaking apart from the pressure.
"Impossible…" Watching the proceedings, Irea raised her tired eyelids before her eyes suddenly shook open in shock. At this point, even her pupils dilated, as if she couldn't believe what she was seeing, no matter how intense the sight was.
But Layn didn't stop there. With his drive formed, propelled to some insane degree and leaving a huge spot in the middle of the flow open, the archmage couldn't stop himself from pouring all the incoming energy right into the hole.
Yet, it felt as if it wasn't a hole in the platform of energy, but an abyss.
At this point, the speed of Layn's growth nearly disappeared. As if it was bottomless, all the energy that Layn was sending straight down its entrance, the abyss remained as empty as before.
'I guess that's it for today…' Keeping the flow of mana from his rope steady, Layn raised his head. Just a slight movement of his hand was enough to tell him how insanely strong he had become in just a span of a single moment. Looking around, it seemed as if just by turning his head, he could call powerful winds.
But what truly nailed the point, was the faces that all the ancients were making. Full of shock, amazement and even adoration that should be reserved only to one's wife or gods.
"Almost complete primal awakening... " Staring at the archmage as if she was in a presence of a god, Irea could only whisper as her lips refused to work properly.
"So, my plan is simple." Ignoring the commotion that he caused, Layn smiled before spreading his arms open. "If I will be able to defeat Sitra with ease, would you guys leave the task of dealing with that bastard's group to me?"