The emptiness that Altair had felt just a moment ago vanished like a puff of smoke within her. Her eyes widened in shock as she quickly pulled the jug away from her face and coughed up more blood straight into the sink.
It was a gamble really. She didn't know if the liquid would have helped her at all but her luck turned out to not be complete trash. Still, even if it only increased her Mana capacity as she thought it would then she would probably have died by her estimation.
Altair did not expect that the rain water would actually refill her Mana capacity. It didn't just replace the Mana that she had burned through the fight she had with Celestine. It had also spilled over what she could hold within herself. The Mana she couldn't contain filled out inside of her and caused a raging storm within her stomach.
It immediately churned and she felt the urge to throw up. The need to cough caused by the blood filling her lungs didn't help the issue either. Her face turned green under the onslaught of both feelings.
Noel eyed Altair with concern on her face from the side but didn't say or do anything.
Altair resisted the urge and starting burning her Mana at an excessive rate. She first checked the condition of her body and found that the bone shards were still stuck in her lungs. Because of that, they were filling with blood.
She then started to use Healing Magic to close the wounds on her lungs and push out the bone shards at the same time. She felt a burning sensation course through her chest at the same time while she coughed over a dozen times. That sensation was the same one that she felt whenever she used Healing Magic.
Healing Magic was a common type of Magic that almost everyone could use. It didn't take much practice or effort as it only closed wounds and nothing more. It wasn't even that costly of a Magic to use.
Before she felt her lungs completely heal, the Mana that was swirling around within her dissipated like sand through her fingers. Her eyes turned into saucers as she felt the emptiness within her become prominent again.
With the same timing she coughed up another mouthful of blood into the sink.
'What the-' before she could finish the thought she couldn't stop herself from throwing up into the sink. All that came out was bile though and there was no trace of the water she had previously drank.
Noel reached a hesitant hand out to rub Altair's back but quickly withdrew it when she saw what she was doing. She bit her lip and continued watch Altair struggle with herself in silence.
Altair quickly pulled the jug over, coughed once more into the sink, then drank another gulp and swallowed down the awful taste of her stomach juices.
Once more, she felt the same surge of Mana and returned to healing her lungs. Yet again, with around the same timing as before, her Mana dissipated into nothing.
'Is this an effect of the curse?'
Altair had no idea. She merely brought the jug over again and swallowed a smaller amount as there was a large amount of Mana that she hadn't even had the chance to burn. If it kept happening then she could conserve her reserves at least.
In that way, Altair took alternating drinks of the water at an ever smaller rate until she was taking a single sip of it. Slowly, but surely, the holes in her lungs were healed and she managed to pull the bone shards out of the rest of her body and back into place by using her thread magic within her body. Once they were in place she was able to mostly connect them back with Healing Magic.
She did not bother to heal her ribs completely though. She had already consumed half of the jug of rainwater just to get that much done. The pain wasn't that bad and could be easily endured.
Her breathing was haggard when she was finished and capped the jug again before pushing it back onto the counter. The sink before her had splatters of blood all over it and there was some on the counter to the sink as well due to her height. Her face was pale due to how much blood she wound up coughing up. When combined with her mental exhaustion from not sleeping yet, she felt like she could fall over and sleep for a whole day.
But, she couldn't do that. The precious rain water that was left had to be protected as her so-called 'medicine'. If it got disposed of then she wouldn't be able to expand her Mana capacity for a while.
The thought crossed her mind to drink a lot of it and use Teleportation Magic to return home immediately but she dismissed the idea. With how much the excess Mana was rampaging uncontrolled within her as it spilled out from one gulp, she was worried that it might cause bodily harm to her before she completed the Magic. She really had no idea what would happen at that point.
It was safer to take the slow route, even though she was very tempted to return home right then and there.
If Renald failed to acquire more rain water for her before her time was up then she would not hesitate to do so, however.
She turned her head to Noel at her side and stated, "Noel, split up the remainder of this medicine into flasks for later use. About two mouthfuls per container." She looked back at the jug and added, "Since Liam isn't around, this is all that's left of it. It needs to be kept safe."
Noel looked at the jug skeptically. Throughout the entire coughing fit that Altair had, she assumed that she was using the water to wash the taste out of her mouth. She didn't actually think it was medicine of any kind.
Altair walked over to a chair and sat down on it heavily. She stared at the ceiling as her mind wandered to the rain water. 'So it can also be used to regain lost Mana. Such a strange place this is. If I can bring back a lot of jugs of it then couldn't the Coalition sweep the Human armies easier?'
She considered it for a moment before she decisively decided against it. 'No, if the Humans got wind of the Demi-Humans having such a valuable resource then they would attack with greater fervor. They would probably even start torturing others to get information on where it came from.'
Even though they were at war, it wasn't a very intensive war on the Human's side. It mostly consisted of guerilla warfare. The Demi-Humans didn't have the numbers to consistently attack and pressure the Human cities. The leader of the Coalition was tasked with bringing around a group of Demi-Humans into Human lands to distract the Human army so that they couldn't find the Coalition's base. It was a mobile army that continued to harass farmers, merchants, and cities until the Human's brought an army around to deal with them.
Altair had served in the army several times after Maxwell had died so she knew roughly how the pattern went. She also knew that if the Humans really got serious about the war and sent out multiple armies, the Coalition would probably fall apart very quickly.
But they never did as far as she remembered.
As a result, the Total War stagnated for the Demi-Humans as they struggled to survive. At least it did until Altair joined the frontline a few times. After that, the Humans started to get a little more serious after witnessing how horrifying she was in battle. Still, they didn't send out multiple armies even then.
If the Humans found out they had something that could regain a person's Mana then they would send out multiple armies immediately. That resource would be too valuable for them not to try and obtain it.
Her capacity did not increase at all from ingesting the rain water. She didn't know if that was because of the strange problem she was having or because it wasn't possible from drinking it. In either case, more experimenting was required.
She let out a large sigh as her eyes slowly closed and her body felt warm, 'Just what is the cause of my Mana disappearing?'
Under the sounds of Noel pouring small amounts of rain-water into small vials that were at the side, Altair felt at peace as her mind floated away. Soon, the rhythmic sounds of Altair's soft breathing could be heard as she drifted off to sleep in the chair she was in.
Outside the room, Hadrian and Celestine were thoroughly questioned by Sarah. At first, they gave her fake answers that weren't really answers. But, once Sarah listed off over a dozen secrets that they thought were secrets between themselves and secrets that they were sure they only had.
Once Sarah did that, the Ladrian children became completely terrified. They were unable to not tell the truth to Sarah about the sparring match.
Hadrian was still able to keep the reason they came to the mansion a secret but Celestine didn't share that will. She quickly related the reasons when they came and Sarah merely gave them a gentle smile in response that they both felt was the smile of death.
They were only spared Sarah's questions when Renald finally showed up.
The emptiness that Altair had felt just a moment ago vanished like a puff of smoke within her. Her eyes widened in shock as she quickly pulled the jug away from her face and coughed up more blood straight into the sink.
It was a gamble really. She didn't know if the liquid would have helped her at all but her luck turned out to not be complete trash. Still, even if it only increased her Mana capacity as she thought it would then she would probably have died by her estimation.
Altair did not expect that the rain water would actually refill her Mana capacity. It didn't just replace the Mana that she had burned through the fight she had with Celestine. It had also spilled over what she could hold within herself. The Mana she couldn't contain filled out inside of her and caused a raging storm within her stomach.
It immediately churned and she felt the urge to throw up. The need to cough caused by the blood filling her lungs didn't help the issue either. Her face turned green under the onslaught of both feelings.
Noel eyed Altair with concern on her face from the side but didn't say or do anything.
Altair resisted the urge and starting burning her Mana at an excessive rate. She first checked the condition of her body and found that the bone shards were still stuck in her lungs. Because of that, they were filling with blood.
She then started to use Healing Magic to close the wounds on her lungs and push out the bone shards at the same time. She felt a burning sensation course through her chest at the same time while she coughed over a dozen times. That sensation was the same one that she felt whenever she used Healing Magic.
Healing Magic was a common type of Magic that almost everyone could use. It didn't take much practice or effort as it only closed wounds and nothing more. It wasn't even that costly of a Magic to use.
Before she felt her lungs completely heal, the Mana that was swirling around within her dissipated like sand through her fingers. Her eyes turned into saucers as she felt the emptiness within her become prominent again.
With the same timing she coughed up another mouthful of blood into the sink.
'What the-' before she could finish the thought she couldn't stop herself from throwing up into the sink. All that came out was bile though and there was no trace of the water she had previously drank.
Noel reached a hesitant hand out to rub Altair's back but quickly withdrew it when she saw what she was doing. She bit her lip and continued watch Altair struggle with herself in silence.
Altair quickly pulled the jug over, coughed once more into the sink, then drank another gulp and swallowed down the awful taste of her stomach juices.
Once more, she felt the same surge of Mana and returned to healing her lungs. Yet again, with around the same timing as before, her Mana dissipated into nothing.
'Is this an effect of the curse?'
Altair had no idea. She merely brought the jug over again and swallowed a smaller amount as there was a large amount of Mana that she hadn't even had the chance to burn. If it kept happening then she could conserve her reserves at least.
In that way, Altair took alternating drinks of the water at an ever smaller rate until she was taking a single sip of it. Slowly, but surely, the holes in her lungs were healed and she managed to pull the bone shards out of the rest of her body and back into place by using her thread magic within her body. Once they were in place she was able to mostly connect them back with Healing Magic.
She did not bother to heal her ribs completely though. She had already consumed half of the jug of rainwater just to get that much done. The pain wasn't that bad and could be easily endured.
Her breathing was haggard when she was finished and capped the jug again before pushing it back onto the counter. The sink before her had splatters of blood all over it and there was some on the counter to the sink as well due to her height. Her face was pale due to how much blood she wound up coughing up. When combined with her mental exhaustion from not sleeping yet, she felt like she could fall over and sleep for a whole day.
But, she couldn't do that. The precious rain water that was left had to be protected as her so-called 'medicine'. If it got disposed of then she wouldn't be able to expand her Mana capacity for a while.
The thought crossed her mind to drink a lot of it and use Teleportation Magic to return home immediately but she dismissed the idea. With how much the excess Mana was rampaging uncontrolled within her as it spilled out from one gulp, she was worried that it might cause bodily harm to her before she completed the Magic. She really had no idea what would happen at that point.
It was safer to take the slow route, even though she was very tempted to return home right then and there.
If Renald failed to acquire more rain water for her before her time was up then she would not hesitate to do so, however.
She turned her head to Noel at her side and stated, "Noel, split up the remainder of this medicine into flasks for later use. About two mouthfuls per container." She looked back at the jug and added, "Since Liam isn't around, this is all that's left of it. It needs to be kept safe."
Noel looked at the jug skeptically. Throughout the entire coughing fit that Altair had, she assumed that she was using the water to wash the taste out of her mouth. She didn't actually think it was medicine of any kind.
Altair walked over to a chair and sat down on it heavily. She stared at the ceiling as her mind wandered to the rain water. 'So it can also be used to regain lost Mana. Such a strange place this is. If I can bring back a lot of jugs of it then couldn't the Coalition sweep the Human armies easier?'
She considered it for a moment before she decisively decided against it. 'No, if the Humans got wind of the Demi-Humans having such a valuable resource then they would attack with greater fervor. They would probably even start torturing others to get information on where it came from.'
Even though they were at war, it wasn't a very intensive war on the Human's side. It mostly consisted of guerilla warfare. The Demi-Humans didn't have the numbers to consistently attack and pressure the Human cities. The leader of the Coalition was tasked with bringing around a group of Demi-Humans into Human lands to distract the Human army so that they couldn't find the Coalition's base. It was a mobile army that continued to harass farmers, merchants, and cities until the Human's brought an army around to deal with them.
Altair had served in the army several times after Maxwell had died so she knew roughly how the pattern went. She also knew that if the Humans really got serious about the war and sent out multiple armies, the Coalition would probably fall apart very quickly.
But they never did as far as she remembered.
As a result, the Total War stagnated for the Demi-Humans as they struggled to survive. At least it did until Altair joined the frontline a few times. After that, the Humans started to get a little more serious after witnessing how horrifying she was in battle. Still, they didn't send out multiple armies even then.
If the Humans found out they had something that could regain a person's Mana then they would send out multiple armies immediately. That resource would be too valuable for them not to try and obtain it.
Her capacity did not increase at all from ingesting the rain water. She didn't know if that was because of the strange problem she was having or because it wasn't possible from drinking it. In either case, more experimenting was required.
She let out a large sigh as her eyes slowly closed and her body felt warm, 'Just what is the cause of my Mana disappearing?'
Under the sounds of Noel pouring small amounts of rain-water into small vials that were at the side, Altair felt at peace as her mind floated away. Soon, the rhythmic sounds of Altair's soft breathing could be heard as she drifted off to sleep in the chair she was in.
Outside the room, Hadrian and Celestine were thoroughly questioned by Sarah. At first, they gave her fake answers that weren't really answers. But, once Sarah listed off over a dozen secrets that they thought were secrets between themselves and secrets that they were sure they only had.
Once Sarah did that, the Ladrian children became completely terrified. They were unable to not tell the truth to Sarah about the sparring match.
Hadrian was still able to keep the reason they came to the mansion a secret but Celestine didn't share that will. She quickly related the reasons when they came and Sarah merely gave them a gentle smile in response that they both felt was the smile of death.
They were only spared Sarah's questions when Renald finally showed up.
