Once the pillar had left, Nico cast his attention towards the tome. He thought it prudent to try to familiarise himself with the spell before his family came.
It would be disastrous if his mother or Beverly gleaned his secret… much like the Saintess had.
That was why he had to get to work.
And quickly, at that.
It might have been a tad ambitious, but the boy hoped to implement the spell in the short window before his family and friends came to visit.
Making himself comfortable, Nico lifted the book and placed it in his lap.
The smooth and well-preserved cover fashioned from what seemed to be the hide of a harrowing Mana Beast, and several other esoteric engravings, entered his gaze.
Wasting no time, the brown-haired boy opened the tome.
...Or at least tried to.
Again, and again, and again.
It did not work.
He froze, wondering why it would not open.
Then, an idea sparked to life in his mind.
'Could it be….?'
Acting on his thoughts, Nico sent a burst of mana to his hands, letting some of it trickle into the tome.
A small click echoed in response.
'Success!'
He hurriedly opened the book.
What greeted him were the words "Divine Concealment" at the top of the page.
Beneath, a brief description read:
[This technique allows the user to conceal the presence of their core. At the beginner stage, it will help prevent excess mana leakage. Upon greater mastery, however, the user can erase their Mana Signature altogether. Be warned, if kept active for prolonged periods, the user may experience bouts of dizziness or in the worst case, a crushing migraine.]
'Interesting…' Nico mused.
The prospect of being disoriented and having a headache - no doubt a result of straining his mind too much through prolonged activation of the spell - was not appealing.
However, the boy knew there was no such thing as a perfect technique or spell.
Everything had a weakness.
Here, it was the burden placed on his mind.
Shifting his gaze down the page, Nico discovered a set of instructions and diagrams conveniently placed underneath to help him comprehend how to utilise the spell.
Conscious of how quickly time was dwindling, he hurriedly read through the text until he had a vague understanding of what to do.
Next, he set aside the tome and closed his eyes, mentally repeating the steps he would carry out.
'First, I have to sense the pure mana in the air. Then, I need to draw on the untainted energy and let it enter my core, before making sure the pure mana sticks to the motes, or in my case, the particles I don't want to use.'
Throwing himself into the meditative state, Nico observed the world turn dull once more as numerous amethyst particles bloomed like a myriad of flowers in his vision.
Concentrating, he slowly and carefully drew on one of the violet motes, coaxing it with his mind until it slipped into his core.
He exhaled a turbid breath.
One down, many more to go.
While Nico did not know the exact number of particles his core held, he intuitively sensed that it was considerably more than the average ascender possessed.
At any other time, this would have been a great boon worthy of being ecstatic about.
Unfortunately, as it was, Nico saw it as more of a curse than a blessing.
Redoubling his efforts, the brown-haired boy matched the pure energy with each of his affinities, leaving the grey, earthy brown, and purple motes behind.
He had long since decided which elements were his favourite, even back in the Training Camp.
Lightning, Earth, Space… a deadly combination that if used correctly would cover all aspects of warfare, making him extremely versatile.
The former gave him deadly speed and attack power, while the second and latter Elements gave him formidable defensive and flexible mobility.
Just thinking of the combinations he could unleash using these three Elements… was enough for Nico to want to enter a battle again so soon after his harrowing ordeal in the Dungeon.
'I'm not a battle maniac. Just someone who has a fine appreciation for the art of slaughter…'
Nico nodded sagely to himself.
Calming down slightly, the brown-haired boy focused and set to work once again.
As time passed, his brows slowly furrowed and a little bead of perspiration matted his forehead.
That was without mentioning the burden his mind was also under.
The effort of constantly drawing on mana, coaxing it to merge with the intended particles, and then repeating the process was without a doubt taxing. Even more so, since he had an above-average mana pool.
Yet, Nico could not give up now. He would not let himself do that.
Especially since he was close!
So close that he could practically count the number of motes he had left to conceal.
Just as the boy finished merging the amethyst mote with the last elemental particle, a knock resounded from the door.
Nico flinched, breaking out of his introspective state.
"Come in!"
He clamped down on the spell, hoping with his entire being that it would hold. His temple throbbed in response.
Nico winced and briefly massaged his temple to try and alleviate the headache, to no avail.
Doing his best to mask his discomfort, the brown-haired boy hurriedly placed the tome back in his Space ring and watched as the door swung open to reveal six people rushing into the room.
"Oh, honey!"
"Brother!"
"Kid!"
"Nico!!!"
All of them spoke at the same time, assaulting Nico's ears with a barrage akin to thunder splitting the sky.
He winced again, inwardly cursing the effects of the spell.
Plastering a sheepish expression on his face, Nico failed to stop the bright grin that played on his lips as he watched Charlotte rush towards him, jumping straight into his arms.
He returned his sister's embrace, warmth flooding his chest at how tightly Charlotte hugged him back.
"Brother, I was so scared!"
"I know. I'm sorry. I've been an awful big brother. But I promise to try to not make you worry as much in the future." The brown-haired boy closed his eyes and squeezed his sibling tighter.
In the next second, he felt another pair of arms wrap around him and Charlotte.
He melted into his mother's embrace. For there was no other person in the world capable of making him feel so loved.
After all, as the saying went, there was nothing more powerful than a mother's love.
And for that very reason, Nico sensed the seal he had placed on his emotions begin to crumble.
Instead of fighting it, he allowed himself a moment of vulnerability, seeking solace within his mother's warmth.
Cynthia paused, clearly not expecting such a strong display of affection from her son, before she too tightened her hug, hoping to transmit all that she wanted to say through that one, single action.
Beverly, Isaac, Leon and Oliver watched the family reunion play out from afar with a mix of different emotions.
Nestled deep within the priestess's often enigmatic gaze, a well of relief threatened to bubble to the surface. The only sign of emotion she allowed herself to display was the faint curl of her lips.
Beside her, the two handsome elves were extremely happy for their friend. Especially since he had so readily sacrificed himself without an ounce of hesitation to save them.
Yet… seeing such a display doubtless brought forth a set of memories they would rather forget.
A hint of pain, quickly suppressed, flashed through the duo's eyes.
Lastly, the half-blood was beyond elated that Nico had survived the horrors of the Awakening Ceremony. Transcendents knew how much the brown-haired boy deserved that.
His saviour and brother had long since earned that right.
It would have been a tremendously cruel move if Fate had taken him away at such a young age. Thankfully, Nico would live to see another day.
Leon was content to savour that brief lull where their lives were not in constant danger.
He inwardly knew there was no stopping his brother's penchant for encountering trouble. One could even claim the strings of Fate were very fond of him.
The half-blood released a helpless sigh at the thought.