Chapter 39: The Wife’s Power
They spent the rest of the night in each other’s company. Their routine hadn’t changed, but their mood had. Both donned unceasing smiles as they cooked dinner. Luke took his duty seriously and made a smorgasbord of food. Anything he could think of, he made.
By the time all the dishes had been set on the table, none of its oak pattern was left visible.
Even so, by the end of dinner, only two containers of leftovers remained.
Both Valeria and Luke sat in a food coma after cleaning up. Luke swore that his stomach would burst after too big of an inhale. His abs had disappeared into his gut, lost somewhere between his skin and stomach.
Valeria wasn’t much different, but she kept her lady-like appearance and sat royally in her wheelchair.
The two exchanged glances throughout the experience, speaking with only their eyes.
"Cleanse."
Valeria’s lispy voice spoke out, casting the spell on her own stomach. Within a flash of mana, her protruding stomach flattened to its usual shape, leaving Luke as the only lard left in the living room.
Not cool. I thought we were celebrating, but you just wanted to show off.
Just cast the spell on yourself then. You are more than capable.
That ruins the fun of eating so much. I’ll just burn it off during a rift anyway.
Valeria’s expression twinged at his words, but Luke didn’t notice the change. Instead, he continued to rub his stomach in hopes that the food inside would magically disappear.
’Wait, she was out of mana just an hour ago, and she already has enough mana to cast again.’
Valeria, how much of your mana do you have back?
About 30%. Why?
Luke’s eyes widened at the answer and the following question. It had taken him almost a full day to recover her mana, while she had recovered hers in under four hours. If he factored out the bonus from the ring, her mana would normally regenerate after four hours.
He knew that SSS-Ranks usually had speedy mana regeneration, helping them reach their rank, but having a regeneration speed that high combined with her comprehension ability was something irregular, even for her rank.
How big is your mana core right now?
She closed her eyes and felt her core carefully. It was clear that she had repeated practice with the action, reaching her conclusion within two seconds.
Exactly the threshold to enter the academy and become an explorer.
’So she is at ten mana just like I was. Is she able to increase it through clearing rifts, or do I need to use Spouse Mana?’
He had hoped the system would pop up and answer his question, but he was left without an answer. It was disappointing, since he couldn’t just bring her into a rift, even if it was only F-Rank.
It didn’t matter though. She would be able to cast more spells a day than he could, so even if he couldn’t bring her into a rift, she would be able to practice.
’Wait, if we share spells, do we also share comprehension?’
I want to try something. Can we go to the training room?
She cocked her head to one side, but ultimately nodded in agreement.
Luke sat up, his gut messing up his balance. Both of them moved to the stairs, and Luke carried her down into the training room before bringing down her wheelchair.
I want to test something. Can you cast Grease?
Valeria did as he asked, wheeling over to the range and casting the spell. He was hoping to see her cast it into a ball and shoot it as a projectile, but she just cast it like normal.
Can you cast it like I did?
She caught on quickly and realized what he was getting at. Valeria faced the range once more and attempted to use his comprehension of the spell, but nothing changed, and the spell spread onto the floor again.
Luke didn’t have her try again, as her mana reserves must have been used up. Seeing that he didn’t ask her for another test, Valeria cast a different spell toward the dummies at the opposite end.
"Frost Spike."
The spell formed as usual into its icicle shape, but it changed soon after. Chunks broke off and reshaped into smaller icicles, with twenty projectiles hovering in front of Valeria.
She analyzed their form and thickness before satisfying her own imagination and preparing to launch the spell.
With an unneeded flick of her hand, the shards of frost flew across the range. The barrage was split between the three targets, each receiving its fair share of projectiles. Each of the dummies’ humanoid bodies was covered in a thick coat of frost, leaving none of their metal peeking through.
The spell’s speed and power hadn’t diminished. Instead, Luke was sure that it was even more devastating than the original comprehension that he had learned.
Valeria didn’t move, as she seemed to lose herself in thought. His eyes studied the remains of her spell, calculating its effectiveness compared to the original.
Luke stood behind her, unable to think about anything else. Her spell had power above its rank, which he didn’t even think was possible, but if anyone could do it, it was Valeria.
They both moved at the same time, coming to their own conclusions.
Valeria wore a cheeky smile as she spun around to meet Luke, who was still staring at the aftermath of the spell. He was thinking about the spell, the way it split apart, the way the frost spread upon impact, and even the different rotational force.
His imagination ran as he cast the spell in his mind, attempting to make the same changes. When he felt confident, he stepped in front of Valeria and prepared.
"Frost Spike."
It formed as usual, then he attempted to split it apart.
Frost shattered to the ground.
It was only one attempt, but he learned just how far away he was from Valeria’s power.
When he looked over at her, the cheeky smile stayed on her face.
Then she stuck her tongue out.
Come here.
Valeria didn’t wait and instantly used all her might to wheel away.
Luke chased after her, not letting her tease go unpunished.
He chased her around the entire practice room until they both gave up and sat catching their breath.
I’ll let you off this time.
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