Regnum Aetern: Dual Rebirth

Chapter 129: The power of choice

Adrian had been in a tense situation back then, so he didn’t really have the time to test things. But from what he did understand...

’It wasn’t possible.’

Even though such an absurd amount of mana was being channeled through his body back then, he couldn’t use more than a certain amount at once. Even though the amount of mana he could utilize was absurdly high, his output at a moment was limited.

Meaning he could’ve cast hundreds or even thousands of weak spells, but he couldn’t have cast one very strong spell.

’Infinite mana, was it? What bullshit.’

But the strange thing was something else.

’Elemental infusion...’

In the spur of the moment, he had somehow used it without even realizing it. But elemental infusion was an ability one only gained after reaching Phase Three. Adrian never felt the sensation of ascending to a higher Phase back then.

More than that...

Adrian closed his eyes and focused on the mana within him. Feeling the flowing bluish energy, Adrian opened his eyes again.

’It’s gone.’

Because of elemental infusion, mana within the body always remains infused with one’s element. But the mana within Adrian had now returned to normal, and he couldn’t feel the sensation of being able to use elemental infusion.

’Did my body temporarily fulfill the conditions for reaching Phase Three because of the mana from the dimension without actually reaching it? Or is it something else?’

In the end, he didn’t know, nor did he have the ability to test it. So he pushed it to the corner of his mind for now.

Then there was the most significant development.

’Lightning...’

He didn’t know whose derived element it was before the fight. But by now, he had come to know that it was the derived element of the major element, fire.

And that was because... he could feel it.

It was a strange thing, but he had been able to feel it. He had also been able to feel the major element, fire, but he couldn’t use it instinctively as he had done with lightning.

’Maybe it’s because I have a greater understanding of lightning and electricity since I’m a person from Earth...?’

That was not all. He could feel a lot more than just the major element, fire. Though he hadn’t been able to dig deep back then because of the tense situation.

’Just what is even going on?’

Nothing was making sense. He not only didn’t instantly die after tapping into the dimension but also gained strange abilities like elemental infusion and the ability to use elements other than the space element.

If it had just been the part where he didn’t instantly die because his mana was being released outside, he could’ve simply blamed the spell, saying that it was malfunctioning. But there was no explanation for the other two.

While Adrian’s thoughts continued to spiral more and more, the vampire was busy with something else. He cleaned the cave, throwing stones and other useless things out. He went as far as flattening out the ground with his feet.

Behind him, the dark sky was slowly turning blue, signaling that the sun was about to rise. Seeing that, the vampire extinguished the campfire and cleaned even that away.

After that, he left the cave.

Adrian had simply stopped thinking by then. It was useless to speculate with so little information.

Lying on the ground, he waited silently, since he could do nothing else.

The sun was peeking from beyond the horizon as its dim golden glow illuminated the interior of the cave. The vampire returned in about an hour or so, offering Adrian a polite smile when their eyes met.

’Doesn’t seem like his skin burns in the sunlight.’

In his arms, he was carrying what appeared to be a bunch of dark berries.

Walking up to Adrian, the vampire sat him up against the cave’s wall.

"Now, child, open your mouth."

"..."

"Say aaaa."

"..."

With a sigh, Adrian reluctantly opened his mouth, and the vampire began feeding him one dark berry after another, giving him ‌time to chew in between.

While chewing the berries, Adrian stared at the vampire. The creature was still smiling politely, making it hard for Adrian to read what was going on in the creature’s mind.

In the end, he couldn’t help but speak up.

"I have thought about it a bit, but I still can’t understand it. I can understand that you saved me from the explosion to take my blood. But I just can’t figure out why you would offer me this deal when I have no leverage and you hold all the cards. Are you afraid of the possibility that I will end my own life if you force me?"

The vampire shook his head. Causing Adrian to frown.

"Then what is it?"

The vampire met his gaze and... smiled. But it was not the polite smile that he always had from the moment Adrian saw him. This smile somehow looked genuine. It looked warm.

"Do I need to have a reason?"

Adrian’s reply was instant.

"Of course. Why would you do something for no reason?"

Hearing that, the vampire let out a light chuckle.

"Child, you have a very strange mindset for your age. As for the reason, I offered you that deal because I wanted to. Sure, I could easily get what I want if I were to use force, but I don’t want to do so. As you said, I hold all the cards and can make any choice. And this is the choice I’m making."

Adrian did not speak after that, quietly chewing the dark berries, and the vampire, too, continued to feed him the berries without saying anything.

After they finished, the vampire went out again and returned after a while with a wooden cup filled with water. He brought the cup to Adrian’s mouth, helping him drink the water.

And after that, the two of them sat quietly against the cave’s wall, facing each other.

Sitting motionlessly like this felt strange to Adrian.

Thinking back, ever since his reincarnation, he had always been doing something. At first, it was trying to collect information. He remembered trying to sneak books into the room to read them during the night instead of sleeping.

He gained a lot of useful information about this world. But in the end, he never got what he had been searching for. Looking back, all that effort may have been pointless.

After that, growing stronger or trying to gain some sort of permanent advantage over his peers was what he had focused all his attention on. But that turned out to be pointless in the end as well.

’No, maybe not completely pointless. The infinite dimension technically saved my life since I was moments away from being killed.’

Still, it broke his body once again and brought him to the brink of death. If not for Immutable numbing the effect pain had on his mind, Adrian wouldn’t have been able to fight at all.

Shaking away his thoughts, Adrian turned his attention to the vampire sitting in front of him. Adrian asked in his usual dull tone.

"Do you have a name, or something I can call you by?"

The vampire blinked, and then his eyes suddenly widened, as if coming to a sudden realization.

"Oh! I totally forgot to introduce myself. My name is a bit strange and hard to pronounce, so almost all my kin call me Ralz. You can also use that name to refer to me, child."

Adrian nodded.

"I will do so. Also, I have something I want to ask you. You previously asked me what makes you a monster while it makes me a person. I would like it if you could answer that question."