Reincarnated as an Energy with a System

Chapter 2000: Leaving Meghilars

Ning sent the men away before doing anything else. The young man they had brought remained behind.

He had already been freed from the sack, but that did little to calm him. He stood near the middle of the chamber with his shoulders tense, watching Ning and the strange collection of artifacts around them while clearly wondering whether being left alone with an unknown stranger was actually better than whatever fate Zaraxus had intended for him.

Ning noticed the fear and returned fully to his human form, deciding that looking like an ordinary person would probably help more than standing before him in a form the young man could not understand.

At almost the same moment, a notification appeared before him.

<Energy Cap reestablished.>

Ning glanced at it once, then looked back toward the young man. "You don’t have to worry about Zaraxus anymore. He’s dead, and he won’t be asking anyone to bring sacrifices here again."

The young man stared at him in disbelief. "Dead? Zaraxus?"

"Yes."

"You’re not... Zaraxus?"

Ning nodded.

The young man didn’t even know what to say. He could only open his mouth and do nothing else.

"You know your mana is overflowing, right?" Ning asked suddenly.

The young man froze.

"My mana?"

"Yes. There’s a leak in your Mana Pool. It escapes your body before there is even a chance for it to fill the rest of your body."

He looked down at himself as though the problem might somehow be visible. "I didn’t know that. I always knew I had a lot of mana, but I could never actually use it properly."

Ning studied him for a moment. "That would explain it. You have plenty of mana, but instead of remaining contained and moving through your mana circuit, all of it is constantly leaking out."

The young man slowly nodded as the explanation settled in. "So that is what is wrong with me?"

"Most definitely."

His expression became more thoughtful than frightened now.

Ning looked around the chamber before pointing toward one of the nearby artifacts. "Go pick up that crystal sword."

The young man followed his gaze.

The weapon stood near the far wall, cloudy and translucent, with shades of blue and white within it.

The young man approached carefully and wrapped one hand around the hilt. He jerked his arm back in surprise and nearly dropped it.

His knees weakened, and his face immediately went pale as though a large portion of his strength had been pulled out of him all at once.

"What is this thing?" he asked, tightening his grip so the weapon did not fall.

"A mage-killing sword."

The young man looked toward Ning in alarm.

Ning gestured toward the blade. "The entire thing is made from empty mana crystals, and the crystals naturally draw mana into themselves and hold it. A regular mana crystal is supposed to be tiny and act as a sort of storage for mana, but whoever made that sword exaggerated the effect by using an absurd amount of crystal. A single cut from that sword will steal a lot of mana from whatever comes into contact with it. That includes the user."

The young man looked down at the weapon again. "So it’s draining me?"

"Yes."

"Then why did you tell me to hold it?"

"Because that’s useful for you."

The confusion returned.

Ning continued before he could ask again. "Your Mana Pool has a leak, but it can’t heal because mana keeps flowing through it. If you keep holding something that constantly draws the excess away, the pressure will stay lower and the leak will have a chance to heal."

The young man’s eyes widened slightly. "It can heal?"

"Yes, but not quickly."

"How long?"

"A few years, most likely."

The answer visibly disappointed him, though it was still better than learning the condition was permanent.

Ning walked closer and examined the sword again. "Keep it on you at all times. You have enough mana that it can never fully drain you. And in the future, when it has absorbed enough mana, you will have more power in a single sword than almost any other treasure out there."

The young man was fascinated to hear all that. He looked around, his eyes moving over the other treasures.

Ning followed his gaze.

The spear, scythe, chalice, jars containing floating eyes, and many smaller artifacts remained exactly where Zaraxus had collected them.

"You can have them."

The young man turned sharply toward him. "All of them?"

"Yes."

He stared at Ning as though he had misheard.

"They belonged to Zaraxus, but now that he’s dead, they can go to someone else."

The young man watched in awe. "Why me?"

Ning smiled faintly. "You got lucky. Though I won’t give it all to you outright. I’ll make you work for it."

The young man became cautious again. "What?"

"Help the people who come here."

Ning looked toward the entrance through which the sacrifice party had disappeared. "The people outside don’t know Zaraxus is gone yet, and even once word spreads, some groups will still bring sacrifices because they’ll be too afraid to stop immediately."

The young man’s expression changed as he understood where Ning was going.

"When they arrive, take them in," Ning continued. "Give them food, shelter, somewhere to live, and whatever help they need to start again. Some of them may have nowhere else to return to after being chosen as sacrifices."

The young man looked around the massive tower again.

"You want me to turn this place into a refuge?"

"If that’s the easiest way to think about it, yes."

He considered the request carefully. "And in exchange, I get everything here?"

"I’ll make it so that each artifact here will become accessible once you’ve done a good deed. Do you accept?" Ning lifted one hand and created a small ring, shaping it carefully before holding it out.

The young man accepted it with his free hand.

"I do. I’ll help others."

"Wear it."

The young man did. "What now?"

"You did your first good thing by accepting this mission. You will get another artifact here."

Something glowed to the side. A sort of dial.

"Do more good, and you’ll get to own all of this. I’ll be counting on you."

The young man looked toward the tower entrance, then toward the artifacts around him, and finally at the crystal sword still draining away his excess mana. Whatever life he had expected to have before being dragged here had clearly disappeared, but for the first time since Ning met him, he no longer looked completely lost.

"I can do that," he said. "At least, I can try."

"That’s enough."

Ning turned to leave, then stopped after taking only a few steps.

He had never actually asked the young man the simplest question.

"What’s your name?"

"Rin."

Ning smiled faintly. "Goodbye, Rin. Take care of the people who come here."

Rin tightened his grip on the sword and gave a small nod. "I will."

Ning left the tower soon afterward.

Palmar disappeared beneath him as he rose beyond the atmosphere, leaving Zaraxus, the tower, and the strange collection of artifacts behind in Rin’s hands.

With that, there was nothing left keeping him in Meghilars.

The next destination lay in another galaxy.

He headed for Crownus.

[End of Volume 9 - Adventures through Meghilars]