Chapter 38: Thank You
Valeria sat in the doorway, emotionally staring into Luke’s eyes.
Luke tried his best to hide his own emotions, but failed.
"Defense Increase."
The spell formed in front of Valeria, folding in on itself four times before being shaped into a circle that attached to her hand like a shield.
Luke watched as she analyzed the piece of mana in confusion. Three heartbeats passed before she truly realized what she had done, and by that point the tears of happiness started to flow.
She sobbed out her doubts, worries, and weakness until the only thing left was an SSS-Rank explorer casting a spell that she wouldn’t have even bothered to hold two years ago.
His eyes widened at the sight. Not because she was crying, but because she shouldn’t have any spells to cast.
He stopped himself. It wouldn’t have mattered even if she had cast an earth-splitting high-rank spell. Luke had fixed her core.
He completed the goal that he had been working towards since entering the world.
A few tears dripped from the corners of his eyes, but he didn’t bother to wipe them.
His feet landed on the carpeted floor as he took steps toward Valeria. Luke stopped only half a foot away, crouching down in front of her. Their eyes locked for a split second before a pair of arms wrapped around his body.
She pulled him in close enough to nestle her watery eyes into his compression shirt. Luke could feel the stream of tears seep through the shirt, but he didn’t care. He reciprocated and hugged her back, and a few more tears fell from his eyes.
They embraced each other in their joy. Tears fell, arms shifted, and emotions ran. The hug lasted for minutes before Valeria took control of her feelings and disconnected her arms from Luke’s back.
He watched as Valeria pulled her face away from his sternum, revealing puffy eyes and a runny nose. Luke wasn’t composed himself, sporting salty streaks down his own cheeks.
Thank you.
Through his ASL lessons, he had begun to see the feelings behind signs, and Valeria had put gratitude behind her gestures.
He didn’t sign back. The emotions seemed to block access to his newly learned language, leaving him without words.
Valeria finally moved, gently pushing Luke out of the way and moving her wheelchair over to the tissues by the bed.
Before she could pull out a tissue, she stopped. For a moment she thought about something, and then did it.
"Cleanse."
Her vocal cords were weak from lack of use, leading to a slight lisp as she cast, but that didn’t stop the spell from washing over her face and returning it to a clean canvas.
Now Luke was truly confused. He had just watched her cast two spells, both of which were ones that he owned. There had to be a reason, since the system hadn’t lied about anything before.
’How can she cast, System.’
A screen appeared in front of him, giving him a brief answer to his question.
[Shared Library is a Spouse Ability that allows for each spouse to use the other’s learned spells.]
It all made sense now.
Even if she wasn’t aware of the ability, the knowledge of spells was ingrained at the smallest level of the mind. It was impossible for an explorer to just forget a spell, but that also made it impossible to not know you had one.
The ability was more than he could have asked for. Yet, he would have been just as happy without it. Seeing Valeria’s happiness as she regained her mana core was more than enough for him.
She cast Defense Increase another time, adjusting the spell as she saw fit. Its shape, size, and durability were all altered in the blink of an eye. Valeria ended the cast with a star the size of her head, with a durability that rivaled even Luke’s strongest version of the spell.
It was impressive to watch someone so strong change a spell at will. His comprehension speed was already abnormal for the world, but Valeria’s was in the realm of a god.
Valeria had a knowing grin on her face the whole time. Luke had been the same when he first cast a spell.
She began to cast another spell, but her lack of mana caught up to her. The small amount of mana that exited her body fizzled out and integrated into the atmosphere. Nevertheless, Valeria still had a smile, as if she even missed running out of mana.
I forgot what mana felt like. It really does feel like I regained an organ.
Luke had never felt so proud of himself.
He had always disappointed himself and others, but for once he had managed to complete his goal.
What was his reward?
The smile of his wife.
A gift that could never be rivaled.
Luke sat down on the corner of the bed while Valeria was close by, massaging her head due to the effects of mana exhaustion.
Did it hurt? The mana core forming, I mean.
No. It just appeared fully fixed.
Can you remember any other spells, or only those ones?
Valeria thought for a moment, realizing his true intentions with the question.
A few, but nowhere near my true arsenal. But now that you mention it, most of the spells are ones that you know. Is there a reason?
Luke swallowed dryly, a faint trace of concern embedding itself in his mind. He knew the reason, but he had made it clear that she would lose all her spells. Fortunately, he had already convinced her that he wasn’t sure what the power was to begin with, leaving him room to feign ignorance.
It’s already weird that I was able to repair your mana core, but is it that weird that you could share my spells as well?
Valeria didn’t think for too long, simply going with his excuse.
That is true. As long as you don’t feel any issues, it couldn’t be a bad thing.
Luke leaned back against the bed, watching the smile refuse to leave Valeria’s face. For the first time since waking up in this world, there wasn’t another goal waiting for him. No monster to kill. No rift to clear. No promise left unfulfilled.
The promise he had made on their wedding day...
He had finally kept it.
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