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Shoutout to Bruh_Vista for beta-reading and providing extensive feedback for this chapter!
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What is a relapse? It is a term often associated with addiction. When a person, after abstaining from their addiction, slips up and reverts to old, destructive habits, it is called a relapse.
Shuri had relapsed. However, the problem was that she didn't show any signs of being addicted in the first place. And what was she even addicted to?
It all happened in a blur, to be honest. A sudden burst of ecstasy followed by a flash of images that even her photographic memory skimmed over. And before she knew it, she had acquired an entire company for the Verum Trading Company. When she realized what she had just done, Shuri had the sudden urge to grab a knife and end everything right then and there. Once again, she had been betrayed, not by another person but by herself.
At this point, Shuri should have grown accustomed to it, considering that this was the new trend her life had taken ever since joining this forsaken Sect. While her life in the Palace was risky and treacherous, at least there were small victories she could enjoy at times. But here, it was just defeat after defeat, and it was taking a toll on her sanity. So much so that when offered a glimpse into a familiar life, Shuri went overboard. That's what happened with the whole Lowe's acquisition. Returning to familiarity after a painful journey into the unknown had caused her to over-compensate.
"And then there's this annoying feeling of being manipulated that's gnawing away at me..."
It was especially true whenever Shuri interacted with Marie. Each conversation, action, and decision felt like a convoluted game of chess in four dimensions.
"Why do I feel like she set me up for this too?"
In a sense, it felt like she was being groomed in a particular direction. Like a puppy being trained to become a fearsome attack dog.
Shuri shook her head to clear her mind of distracting thoughts. The milk was already spilt; there was no point crying over it now. She might as well topple the other jugs while she was at it.
Returning to her desk, she directed her gaze towards the inert mana core affixed atop a custom stand of her design. Around the stand were a series of tools and resources required for the upcoming process of programming the mana core. It was a delicate process with a large margin of error, something she couldn't afford at this moment. Although the setup to farm the wisps and slimes was underway, it hadn't reached a state where a steady supply of mana cores could be expected. So, for the time being, this was the only mana core available.
Programming an inert mana core borrowed techniques from Enchanting, requiring an inscribing tool. The ink used was a special blend of alchemical ingredients designed by the Clan, and Shuri had produced a vial full of it.
Shuri emptied her lungs and took a fresh breath of air. She then touched the mana gem embedded into the side of the stand and channelled her mana through it. As she did so, the metallic stand started to glow with an ethereal purple colour that moved up towards the inert core. The colourless core filled up with the purple shade and grew brighter. Then, the light from the core exploded outwards and expanded to form a holographic projection of the inert core, centered at the now dull sphere.
A tense breath escaped Shuri's lips. The fact that the projection had succeeded proved that the stand and the enchantment on it had been done correctly. In order to conceal her affiliation with the Yoruz Clan, she had to commission the smithing and enchantment through various channels. While it was possible to do both using The Burning Forge, she couldn't afford to leave a trail for the Empire's agents to track. So, she had the smithing done in parts by two different people, with an extremely in-depth description of how the mana channels needed to be laid out to avoid any issues when the parts came together. The inscription for the mana gem was done in-house by her. It wasn't difficult to etch into the mana gem since technically, this was the first thing any aspiring Automage (what the Yoruz Clan called the cultivators following the path of golemancy and magical automation) had to achieve - the Programming Stand was the first step.
After hardening her resolve, Shuri raised the inscribing tool and brought it towards the projected hologram. The tool started to glow as her mana coursed through it. As the glowing tool neared the projection, a purple ethereal mark appeared in the empty space. Shuri controlled her movements, especially the sudden shakiness assaulting her arm, and moved the tool along according to the very first design from her memory. The process was slow and required steady movements. It was a bit more forgiving compared to Enchantment since the space she was working with was larger (compare a mana gem to an inert core). However, with the increased space came a much more expansive and intricate design. There was little room for error and no time to pause. Luckily, Shuri was equipped with the gift of perfect memory, so what she envisioned quickly formed in the empty ethereal projection.
To some extent, programming a mana core was similar to inscribing on a mana gem. In fact, modern enchanting in Gaea was derived from mana core programming principles after multiple steps to condense the intricacy of the process. A mana core can hold many more inscriptions inside it compared to a mana gem, making it more multifunctional and able to perform more complex tasks. The more advanced the inert core is, the more inscriptions it can handle, thus allowing it to accommodate more intricate tasks. For reference, a Core Formation realm core is so large that you would need up to five mages working on it simultaneously. The one on Shuri's work desk was only a Mana Condensation realm one, and it had the capacity to handle the most basic of tasks. And of all the available basic options, Shuri was attempting the most basic one.
Seconds ticked by, transitioning into minutes, which eventually stretched into hours. The sun, at its zenith, when Shuri began her work, had since set, casting a dusky hue across the room. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Shuri released a slow, steady breath of satisfaction. With that, she ceased channelling mana into the inscription tool and moved her hand towards the mana gem resting on the side of the stand. Activating the gem caused the purple light emanating from it to fade. As the light reached the mana core, the holographic projection flickered momentarily before compressing onto the core's surface. The once dull core regained its luminosity, with a shimmering purple sheen that fluctuated in brightness. Accompanying this transformation was a faint sizzling sound emanating from the core.
Unconsciously, Shuri held her breath. This was the crucial moment that would determine the success or failure of the entire process. If the core accepted the design, the sizzling would subside, and the core would acquire a permanent ethereal sheen. Failure, on the other hand, would result in the core shattering into pieces.
"Success!" Shuri exclaimed as the orb settled, emitting a faint, misty-white glow. The programming had been successful. Shuri carefully picked up the warm sphere, using her mana sense to perceive the steady stream of surrounding mana being absorbed by the core. Similar to an inscribed mana gem, the programmed core could function independently as long as it held mana within. The mana replenishment occurred at a standard rate based on the core's stage. A successful program ensured that the core's mana capacity did not drop below 90% during operation. However, achieving this was only possible when the core was assigned the most trivial tasks. In reality, a program had to strike a delicate balance where mana consumption equalled the replenishment rate, favouring the replenishment process. The Yoruz Clan's manuals did not explore this concept, instead offering the most optimal inscriptions directly, as they had been thoroughly tested by the clan over the years.
Shuri directed her gaze toward the sole source of light in her room, positioning the ball between her line of sight and the light. She then channelled her mana through one of the core's two outer mana pathways. The ball grew slightly brighter, but simultaneously, the light on the wall dimmed until it completely faded away.
A triumphant smile spread across Shuri's face, allowing herself a moment of revelry. She channelled her mana through the other pathway, causing a wisp of light to escape the ball, returning it to its original luminosity. The wisp darted forth with speed, settling on the wall and illuminating it once again.
"YES!" Shuri exclaimed with delight, her blood pulsating vigorously in sync with her cheer. An exhilarating sense of achievement surged through her nerves, causing her muscles to tense and relax rapidly.
"Oh~ Yeaaah!" An embarrassingly long moan escaped her lips. At that moment, she felt it - the erratic movement of her mana swirling within her body. What was happening?
Suddenly, the circulating mana surged toward her core, and a faint tremor resonated throughout her body.
"This-"
Shuri covered her mouth, suppressing another moan. Just then, a series of knocks echoed from her door.
"Shuri? Are you in there? It's well past dinnertime, and I didn't see you in the mess hall," a deep baritone voice called out.
Shuri's eyes widened in shock as she quickly connected the voice to its source.
"~I'm coming~" Shuri instinctively replied, though her momentary lapse due to the shock caused her voice to modulate alongside the suppressed moan.
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