Darius promptly detached his lips from hers. He didn't want to go too far without proper preparation beforehand. He understood that Maria was still in shock, and he might trigger her trauma if he was not careful.
For now, both of them agreed to take things slowly and didn't want to rush to the next step.
Maria put on her sleeping dress which was slightly ajar after Darius caressed and fondled her breasts. Her shoulder and neck were now full of Darius' marks.
"I am sorry," Darius said, embracing her head on his chest.
"No need to apologize. I know this day will come eventually. I should be the one who needs to apologize for hiding the truth from you."
While she hugged him, maria noticed the dimly glowing crystal sphere in Darius' chest. She wanted to ask him the other day, but she couldn't find a proper time to ask him.
For the past decade, Maria was affirmed that Darius didn't possess any talent or even an affinity with any Elementals.
"Darius, what is this?"
*A gift from my parents." Darius had to lie since he didn't want Maria to carry his burden. The less she knew, the better.
Maria ran her fingers along his broad chest. *I see. It's so beautiful, calming, and…"
Before she could finish her words, Maria drifted off and fell asleep within a second.
"Oh? She must be very tired." Darius murmured inwardly.
Suddenly, Alexa chimed in, her artificial voice sounded as clear as a day in his ears.
[Congratulations, Master Darius!]
He was startled. 'For God's sake! Don't shout inside my head!'
[Sorry.]
"What is it?"
[Time is nigh, you need to learn the Basic Healing Magic as soon as possible, otherwise, one of your villagers will die due to internal bleeding by tomorrow morning.]
Darius quickly got off the bed and went to his bedroom.
[Allocate your Loyalty Points to buy Basic Healing Spell.]
"Done."
Suddenly, a small paper scroll manifested from within the crystal sphere in his chest. Darius was startled at first, like a cat who had just seen a foreign object.
[Just open the scroll!] Alexa exclaimed, frustrated.
By the time he opened the scroll, the magical runes shone vibrantly, illuminating Darius' room in golden color.
"Woah!"
Darius was amazed by runes that danced in the sky and encircled him merrily. Like a bunch of newborn fledglings who saw their daddy.
[Save your amazement for later. Read the spell.]
"B-but, I can't read— Wait! I can read the letters! H-how come?!"
[This spell is written in Lunarian. Thus you can read it by default. It seems like the Library of Alexandria is being generous toward you.]
'Wha—"
Darius was about to be reprimanded how could Alexa and the Library know about his origins, but then he remembered that Alexa was always by his side. Including the intimate moment between him and Maria.
"Urgh, never mind."
[Focus your mind now. Let the runes be inscribed in your mind. It should be a walk in the park with the current amount of Arcane Cells in your brain.]
Darius sat cross-legged, focusing on his breath, and let the Arcane Energy envelop his whole body.
Afterward, the knowledge of the basic magic was also being inscribed in his mind.
In the Arcanium Universe, magic could be divided into eight different elements. Earth, Water, Wind, Fire, Wood, Thunder, Ice, Metal, and Vox Elemental.
From those seven basic elemental magic, Vox Elemental magic was the rarest elemental magic of all. It's simply the epitome of magic since its user could govern all seven elemental magic with their voice or even with just a whim of their thoughts.
Aside from those eight basic elements, there were two Magic Elementals that had been considered lost to time. Namely, Light and Darkness. Two opposite elemental powers that brought life to the entire multiverse.
Basic Healing Magic, on the other hand, was a mix of Earth Elemental and Wood Elemental Magic. By combining two elements, Mage could reconstruct the damaged part of any living being at the cellular level.
Henceforth, the Mage who could do this magic was called Medimages. These people were Mages who were born with Earth Elemental and Wood Elemental affinities.
Legend has it, in ancient times there was a Mage who only cultivated this spell and became a God of Medicine.
However, for a mage who was currently at Acolyte Mage Rank, there was a limit to how far he could heal the wounds. If the wound was too fatal, one might need to burn his life force to compensate for the mana loss.
Even for Darius, who had an infinite mana pool, his body wouldn't be able to withstand the sheer mana pressure that was running in his body.
Magic but a realm of imagination where anything was possible and the only limit was the Mage itself. Thus, Darius needs to strengthen his body and mind to be able to use higher-rank spells.
After what seemed like an eternity, the crystal sphere in Darius' chest shone in a verdant green color.
[You have forged 2.000 Arcane Cells]
[Rank up! Third Tier Acolyte Mage]
[Congratulations! You have mastered a new spell!]
[Now you can heal minor injuries.]
"This feeling… Amazing!" Darius exclaimed. His body was now filled with profound power. "Is this what Mage feels? Hmph! No wonder they were so arrogant and so indifferent towards commoners."
However, even though he had Arcane Bolt and Basic Healing Magic in his arsenal, Darius was not complacent. He was still a lowkey and humble person at heart.
By the time Arcane Energy in his body had settled, the sun rose. Spring finally took a full swing, the warm weather bathed the land, melting the snow and ice that remained.
Darius stepped out to the courtyard, welcomed by the chirping noise of birds. Maria was also there, plowing the earth and planting the potato seeds that she stored during the previous harvest season.
"Good morning, Darius. What's your plan for today?" Greeted Maria.