-Asher Frostblade's point of view.
He felt his body, although it was no longer in the blank space of before.
He had returned to his consciousness, to that dark, empty world, where there was nothing but darkness.
Asher watched Encrid and Isabella, who were now also in his consciousness, without saying a word. His gaze rested on the two of them for a moment.
This made no sense, as they could not be inside his consciousness, or rather, in the only space that belonged to him, where no one else could enter.
But.
Why were Encrid and Isabella there?
Next to him.
Asher asked himself this question, but he could not find an answer.
There was no sense of their presence in his consciousness.
They definitely had to be somewhere else inside his mind, far from his consciousness.
Because if they were there, that meant they could alter many things or even control his body at any time, and of course....
Who knows.
Isabella could do something and control her body.
He dismissed Encrid, because he was just watching and not doing anything.
Asher sighed as he looked at the two.
Even though he had returned to his body, he still hadn't woken up.
He was tired.
He was exhausted.
He had no mana reserves and his wounds were severe.
However.
"I'm fine."
For a moment he could hear the voices of the others talking amongst themselves.
He looked around, searching for how to be calm on the ground. Soon he sat up and relaxed immediately, paying attention to the two figures watching him, while he ignored them.
There was no need to worry about anything else, but....
Dungeon boss.
"I shouldn't worry at the moment."
Guardians are not allowed to leave their territory.
For example, if they are in a 10 square meter house and leave that space, a magic inside them reacts and makes them explode.
They were created with the sole function of protecting a single location, and their exit radius is relatively short.
That's why Asher wasn't worried.
"No matter how hard you try, you won't be able to get out for fear of the magic in your body."
He was sure, because the Dungeon's boss was a guardian with mixed demons in his body.
It was then that Encrid's voice reached his ears.
"You seem to be happy."
"Because now I have control of my body."
"True, but you're forgetting something important: your other personality can return at the least expected moment."
"..."
However, he paid no attention, because in a sense he knew that his other personality would return at any moment.
He would only solve this problem when his mentality was stronger.
But...
How?
How could he strengthen his mind quickly?
Although he had no information nor did he know exactly how to improve his mental state.
However...
"No one knows how."
Not even Encrid.
Because he never took the time to look for medical solutions about the mind in this case.
That's why neither Encrid nor Isabella knew anything about how to cure the mind.
"He should wake up in a few minutes."
He felt his body more and mana was starting to flow everywhere.
These were signs that he was about to wake up.
Asher, realizing this, quickly got up from the floor and looked at Encrid and Isabella.
Asher said:
"I'm about to wake up."
"I know."
"..."
"Don't be surprised. I seem to be able to feel what you feel now, but I can block it out so I don't perceive anything from you."
"Yes... Do it."
"..."
Because it was uncomfortable.
More than awkward, it was hard to understand why Encrid and Isabella could feel what Asher felt.
For example, touch when Asher touched something.
"Right."
Encrid nodded and then looked at Isabella.
"Ah... I'll do that too."
She sounded hesitant.
Asher couldn't quite check, however, because his vision began to fade.
***
-Change of scene.
He opened his eyes and saw a figure.
His vision was extremely blurry, but it appeared that the figure was Julian's, though he couldn't see it clearly.
"You woke up."
A barely audible voice echoed near Asher, who averted his gaze.
Gloriana, who stood beside him, stared at him, wide-eyed, as if surprised, but relieved at the same time.
However.
"Hey, Julian."
Asher spoke, but...
Why was he on the other side?
It was then that Asher wondered who was behind him, the first person he saw when he opened his eyes.
And it was then.
"Hehe, hello."
Emilia leaned forward a little, looking at Asher.
Likewise, Asher watched her with some confusion.
"Uh..."
Without realizing it, they were both standing very close. Though Asher didn't think about it, Gloriana did, and so she stepped in.
"Ahem, well, since Asher is awake, we should recover."
Asher stood up and moved to one side of Emilia as he looked at the others.
With their eyes closed, the others were meditating.
Asher then understood everything.
However.
"How long was I out?"
"I think two hours."
But Asher had another thought.
It was because he had spent more than two days in that blank room where he was trapped.
But in reality, it had only been two hours.
Though unexpected, Asher didn't think too much of it and focused on Gloriana.
"So, you used it."
"..."
Gloriana sketched a nervous smile as she averted her gaze.
Asher watched her seriously without saying more.
He hadn't been able to see the light magic, as it was somewhere else inside his head, while another personality other than him was using his body.
Gloriana nervously looked at him and replied.
"Yes..."
"Never mind."
Asher spoke.
Gloriana nodded.
"So, what's the plan? The dungeon boss is crossing the mist? I can feel his mana not far from here."
"You can feel it? Wait, that means you're in the third circle."
"..."
Gloriana was right, and Asher realized it now, even though he wasn't in the third circle before. In particular, he didn't want to get to that level just yet.
But then, how?
That meant that his other personality had brought him to the third circle.
However, why?
He was supposed to be the same, but with another personality. Maybe that's why he advanced to the third circle.
Though, of course, Asher could advance to the third circle whenever he wanted, he was already a step away anyway.
"Haa..."
Asher sighed.
A third circle can sense the mana of living beings of other species. Its senses are enhanced, as is its magical strength, and its mana increases three times as much as that of a second circle.
"Right now I don't have much mana."
This was because his other personality had used all of his mana on several skills at the same time.
Skills that Asher normally doesn't use because they are too powerful and their consumption is excessively high.
Calculating now, his mana was enough to use at least ten times the most mana consuming skills.
"Well then, do you have a plan? I could single-handedly kill the dungeon boss if I had all my mana."
Now that it was a third circle, it was only a matter of having enough mana to be able to defeat the guardian.
However, at this point, I was out of mana.
Powerful spells, but a body with almost no magical energy.
Therefore, they needed a plan.
"Actually, we don't have anything prepared."
This was because the others were also without mana.
The highest priority right now was to recover as much mana as possible.
However.
If you have no talent, recovering all the mana would take a long time.
Asher, on the other hand, was different.
Mana was coming into him without him wanting it.
This was due to his mana lines, which were different.
It was because of his affinity for darkness.
The mana flowed into his body without the need for meditation.
Although it was a slow pace, it was fast enough for someone with an average talent in mana absorption.
"I guess we should wait."
"Yes."
Gloriana nodded.
At that moment, Julian intervened, but Asher spoke first.
"Why aren't you meditating?"
Julian looked at Asher and answered his question.
"Well, actually, I have half of all my mana right now."
Feeling Julian's mana, Asher nodded, confirming his words.
Then, Julian spoke up.
"In that case, Asher, do you have any ideas?"
"No."
Quick answer.
Because he had nothing on his mind either.
His only thought now was to recover.
However.
"I feel a very strong pain in my abdomen.... Someone hit me."
"It was Freddy."
Julian replied instantly.
"I think he did it because your other personality was going crazy and unleashed all your mana at that moment."
"Oh... Sorry about that... If I had been in control of my body, none of that would have happened."
"Don't worry, we'll find a way to recover your mental exhaustion."
Julian, Gloriana and Emilia spoke at the same time.
It was as if they had all agreed.
Or rather, for safety.
Because Asher's other personality now considered his friends as enemies.
In case he showed up again, he would try to kill them.
Before disappearing, he had mentioned that he would betray and kill them.
"Now let's wait for the others."
Emilia spoke and the others nodded at the same time.
It was only a matter of time before they recovered.
With this in mind, Asher decided to heal from his wounds, however.
"Why am I healing?"
He muttered, but Gloriana heard him. Then she walked over, sat down next to him, and then whispered in his ear.
"Because you have my mana in your body."
"Oh."
Asher was surprised at that instant.
Because Gloriana's mana was flowing all over his magical circuitry as it healed his wounds.
"Thank you."
Asher thanked her.
"You're welcome, if you want, I'll help you heal your wounds."
"That would use up all your mana.... Better another time."
"All right..."
But her words sounded like she was disappointed.
Because Asher wouldn't let herself be healed by her, and now she had no way to get closer to him....