'Who's there?!' Lucas was caught off guard and immediately turned his head around.
Eerily, there was nobody there.
'Was I hallucinating..?' Lucas rubbed the back of his head in terror. He had goosebumps all over his skin.
[Hallucination? No, you just can't see me yet. At least, not in your current state. You have to remove your limiter in order to unlock your mana vision first. Only those who have mana-imbued eyes can see me.]
'???'
Lucas digested the words, and after a few seconds, he did feel it. There was something behind the young man. A presence that was very faint, but still there.
Lucas squinted, focusing on the location he thought the creature was at. Unconsciously, the mana pool inside of him started to brew, and aid him in his desire.
He wished to see more!
A bluish light started to linger around Lucas's eyes, and before long, his way of seeing things changed.
He was able to see swirls of energy travel around the entire space. Mana formations of different shapes and sizes.
His eyes began to sting even if it was just within a couple seconds of usage, but that wasn't important.
Right in front of him, his conversation partner finally appeared.
Turns out, there was a faerie was floating in the air this whole time!
'She's so tiny...'
She appeared as a small humanoid figure with translucent crystal wings that were larger than her actual size. Her large, doe eyes held a mixture of several different colors, ranging from shades of blue to red. Astonishingly, her clothes were a part of her. The outfit, which was a dress adorned with sparkling decorations, merged with her skin.
A faerie. He had heard of legends circulating in the world about faeries, but the race was said to be extremely xenophobic and looked upon others in disgust except for a select few that they took a liking to.
Unless they wanted to appear in front of people, no matter how hard you tried to look for them, it would yield no results.
To think that he was actually talking to one right now..
Alas, even though he wanted to capture the creature's form more, his eyes grew too painful to keep up with the consumption of energy. He shut his eyes close and the mana around it dispersed eventually.
[...Hm? Wait, wait, wait.. Did you just try and use mana vision? No, scratch that, did you just succeed in seeing me? You're able to explore that on your own without my guidance..? Also, who are you calling small?! You're so rude!]
'Huh? I don't know what you're talking about. And.. are you able to read my mind? I haven't been speaking out loud this whole time, right??'
[Dummy, of course I can read your mind. I was assigned to watch over you and act as a guide. You better thank Regina for this opportunity! People who have a high-rank fairy following them, you can count their numbers with one hand!] The faerie crossed her arms, pouted, and looked away.
'Uhhh.. Thank.. you?' Lucas wasn't sure how to react.
'Come to think of it, Regina did mention that she was going to lend a specialized helper..'
[Mhm, I am indeed that helper. My name is Cecilia, a high-ranked spirit born from the light of Goddess Lysia. Feel free to address me as Cecil.]
"Cecil.. Can you explain my status to me?"
[Before that, I want to confirm something first.. You did see my appearance, right? And the mana floating around in this space?]
"I guess so?"
[Hmm.. Then, you might really be worthwhile to stay around. I thought that my creator was giving me a boring task, but if it's you.. Alright! You surprised me! I've taken an interest on you, child!]
He didn't think much of her words, but he did notice that her tone when talking softened a bit, from her originally proud and harsh attitude.
Cecil explained every single part of the status to him one by one, especially the parts he was confused in.
After the detailed discussion, Lucas was enlightened.
The powers Regina granted him weren't limited to just skills.
Ever since he woke up in this body, he could feel an enormous amount of mana circulating inside his body. A whirlpool of energy that made him shake from time to time as the amount was too much for him to handle at his current level of comprehension.
As an alchemist, he used to have a small amount of mana in order to conjure potions. However, compared to this body's innate talents, the disparity was like an infant and a legendary hero.
Just now, Cecil had told him that his true power was even greater than that. The pressure he had been feeling from the beginning was the result of one of his skills, called [Limiter].
Like the name suggested, it was a skill that prohibited him from wielding the full extent of his true power. Accompanying that skill was its complementary part, the [Limit Break].
Long story short, this was Regina' way of hiding Lucas's true identity and prowess for the time being. She had dropped a massive room for potential in Lucas, and it was up to him to unlock those privileges and control the power.
Until he reached a high enough level that the two skills no longer mattered, they would cover his ass.
Cecil also warned him to not overestimate his skills and remove his limiter too early. If he did that without precautions, he would basically be courting death. His ability to conjure mana itself could be taken away.
As for [Soul Link] and [Dominion], they were skills pertaining to the others around him. They were basically forms of mind control. With [Dominion], one could take another life under their rule, essentially becoming the master that they wouldn't be able to break away from.
The [Soul Link] worked similarly, just on a more profound level. With [Soul Link], Lucas would even be able to share a consciousness with them and enter their bodies.
'I.. can do all that.' Lucas was amazed by his own abilities.