Chapter 114: The Bond Beyond Blood
What a pain...
It’s powerful, there’s no doubt about that. But if I could somehow perceive my own soul, even just once... If I could directly use the real runes floating there instead of the ones stored in my core, then honestly, I can’t even begin to imagine what kind of magic I might be capable of.
Right now, Ash was lying on the grass as the late evening settled in. The sun had already dipped low on the horizon, painting the sky and the distant mountains in a warm, golden-orange hue.
A gentle breeze swept across the landscape, rustling softly through his hair as he stared up at the open sky above him, his thoughts drifting far beyond the clouds.
But how am I even supposed to perceive my soul? That’s the big—
Just then, as that very thought crossed his mind, something small suddenly appeared above him.
A small, dog-sized unicorn appeared just above his head, its fur soft and pristine, and its oversized, glimmering rainbow eyes filled with pure, innocent curiosity as it stared down at Ash. Drool slowly dripped from the side of its mouth, clearly excited.
"Is it your eating time again?" Ash asked with a raised brow, looking up at the ever-enthusiastic Eric.
He sat up from the ground and casually willed his sword to manifest into the form of a small knife. Without hesitation, he made a clean, deep cut across his palm. Strangely, the wound didn’t heal this time.
He brought his bleeding hand closer to Eric, who immediately leaned in and began drinking the blood directly from his palm, his little tail flicking with excitement.
Watching him drink with such eager energy, Ash couldn’t help but think to himself, He’s grown up a little... at least now he doesn’t bite anymore.
In the past three weeks, not only had Ash’s understanding and usage of Runic Magic grown significantly, but his relationship with Eric, Solareth, and Solareth’s wife had also become much stronger.
At the beginning, Eric couldn’t understand much beyond basic emotions or vague instincts, but now, for some reason, he had slowly begun to understand Ash’s words—at least to a certain degree. It wasn’t perfect communication, but it was progress, and that mattered.
Ash’s willpower had also improved immensely during this time. The constant process of imagining new magical concepts, translating those ideas into precise words, and carefully inscribing them onto his core had trained his mind relentlessly. There were failures along the way, yes, but most of his efforts ended in success, and each small success helped him grow stronger inside.
Through this process, he had created spells he never had before—unique and personal ones—and even improved many existing ones into better, more efficient versions.
He remembered asking Solareth once about how to increase willpower. According to him, there was no known method to directly raise it.
Willpower was something that naturally increased only when someone faced challenges and overcame them. It couldn’t be forced. It had to be earned through experience and effort.
There might be some ancient technique or hidden method somewhere in the vastness of the universe to raise one’s mental strength, but Ash had never read anything about it, and the novel he remembered never mentioned anything like that either.
Still, thanks to his steadily growing willpower, Ash had recently discovered that he could now influence the passive effects of the runes by consciously expending his mental energy.
"Control" might be too big of a word here, he thought to himself, watching his slowly bleeding hand.
Let’s just say... by using my will, I can stop the healing of my skin, even though the Rune of Life should’ve closed this wound by now.
Although, not exact control, but some progress right?
But... I don’t know how this will affect my rank-up.
Ash let the thought hang in his mind. Normally, to rise from Novice to Apprentice Rank, he would need to first max out all of his stats and then form his second magic circle.
That was the standard process. But now, in his case... he didn’t even have a magic circle. Not anymore.
So how was he supposed to rank up now? Would there be some alternate condition he had to meet?
Or would there be no condition at all?
I really don’t know...
He also noticed something strange—both his upper and lower cores were capable of performing Runic Magic.
It was probably because his core was no ordinary one, but a Primordial Core. If it weren’t, then wouldn’t even a normal warrior, someone without any upper core and magical talent, be able to use magic just like that?
But alas, the conditions required to form a Primordial Core were far too harsh. Even Ray, the main character of the novel, didn’t possess it.
And, as we already knew, both of Ash’s cores existed in a symbiotic relationship.
So if one of the cores happened to exhaust all of its mana, the other would automatically begin transferring mana to refill the emptied core.
Still, despite the uncertainty, there was one thing he could be thankful for—thanks to staying here for the past few weeks and eating properly, his stats had steadily gone up.
The food served in the Academy had always been high-quality, crafted to support magical development and physical health.
But the meals prepared by the unicorn couple were on an entirely different level—pure, rich in mana, and made with ingredients beyond what even nobles could usually afford.
As he continued training and eating here, day by day, his body naturally grew stronger, and his stats kept increasing.
**
[ATTRIBUTES]
Strength – 181
Agility – 181
Vitality – 181
Intelligence – 181
Stamina – 181
Charm – 181
Mana – 181
**
An increase of ten stat points in just three weeks... even though that’s fast by most standards, it still feels slow. And if I go into the Ruin, I have no idea what lies inside. I don’t know what Miraak and Zerak found in there either...
Although he held onto a sliver of hope—perhaps he would discover something inside the Ruin that could help accelerate his stat growth—he wasn’t all that optimistic.
After all, without knowing what those two had encountered or obtained, how could he even begin to expect similar results?
So, instead of relying solely on hope, he had to make a backup plan.
Just then, he noticed Eric had stopped eating. The baby unicorn quietly walked over to him, and without a sound, laid his head gently in Ash’s lap before falling into a peaceful sleep.
Ash stopped resisting the natural healing effects flowing through him, and his wounds began to close up gradually.
He looked down and placed a careful hand on Eric’s head, softly patting him with a kind of gentleness he rarely showed.
Soft...
The thought passed through his mind as his eyes subtly softened, the usual frost within them momentarily melting.
And with that shift came another thought, drifting in from the past Maybe... maybe in this world, she might actually like pets. Back then, she never did. But if she were to see something cool... something majestic like a dragon, wouldn’t she fall in love with it?
He didn’t know if Elysia still disliked animals or not. That version of her was in the past, a past that had long since shattered.
The only way he could know was by asking her. And to do that, he first had to heal her.
His gaze, once softened, turned cold again.
Ash had also noticed something else about himself lately—something that bothered him in quiet moments.
After dying and coming back so many times, the crack in his emotions lock has widened and also became unpredictable.
As if whatever mechanism inside him that had shut down was now trying to reconnect itself. Not fully functional, but glitching back to life.
It felt like a broken remote, flickering in and out of function. Sometimes, he could express too much. Other times, nothing at all. He didn’t know what was happening to him anymore.
Just as he sank deeper into those thoughts, a familiar voice came from behind.
"Is he asleep?"
Ash looked up and replied quietly, "Yes."
Solareth stood there, staring at Ash and the boy resting on his lap. A faint bitterness passed through his eyes.
They’ve formed such a bond... he thought, a weary sigh trapped in his chest. If I’d known it would turn out this way, maybe... maybe I should’ve just let him leave back then.
But regrets held no value now.
He stepped forward and gently lifted Eric into his arms. After a brief pause, he asked, "Will you be leaving next week, then?"
"Yes," Ash responded without hesitation. Now that he had a solid understanding of runic magic, what he needed next was deeper knowledge—more about elements.
Lightning, he could study from the libraries available. Life... for that, he planned to head to the Elves. And as for Death...let’s leave that for now.
Shaking his head slowly with a mixture of disbelief and reluctant admiration, Solareth said, "I honestly don’t know where a monster like you even came from. You’ve managed to learn runic magic without any base or foundation to build on, and your natural talent for magic is truly something else."
"At this point, I’m honestly at a loss for words—there’s really nothing more I can say."
Ash’s lips curled into a bitter, almost reluctant smile as he heard those words, because for the first time ever, someone had praised him not just as a student, but as a prodigy worth marveling at.
"None of this would’ve been possible without your guidance," Ash replied softly, his voice carrying quiet gratitude. "You’ve been the only reason I made it this far."
Solareth shook his head again, a small chuckle escaping him. "You’re far too modest, Ash. But that’s what makes you... you."
He straightened, the corners of his eyes crinkling in an almost fatherly way. "Keep pushing, but don’t forget to rest sometimes. Talent alone won’t carry you forever."
Ash nodded, feeling the truth in Solareth’s words more than he wanted to admit.
"I’ll call you when dinner’s ready," Solareth said, turning to leave while carefully cradling Eric in his arms.
Solareth had already come to understand Ash well; besides eating, sleeping, and taking care of the basics, Ash’s time was almost entirely devoted to training, relentlessly pushing himself forward like a man possessed.
Turning his gaze back up toward the sky, Ash allowed his thoughts to drift as he began quietly planning for the uncertain future.
And just like that, another week slipped by, bringing with it the long-awaited day when Ash would finally leave the Unicorn family behind.
***