Qin Wei's breathing was steady, shutting his eyes tightly as the battle maid continuously poured her mana into his body.
He was trying with all he had to grasp hold of the mana flow within him, but it was like water poured into a cracked vessel.
Vanessa's mana entered his body, swirled in his meridians, and then dissipated into nothingness.
After nearly an hour of effort, Vanessa slowly drew back her hands at last, and the glow between them flickered out.
Qin Wei opened his eyes, blinking away the dizziness.
Vanessa shook her head faintly, her brows knitted in disappointment. "Forget it, Master Icarus. There's no point in forcing it."
He stared at her, "So you are giving up on me?"
She met his eyes and spoke more firmly this time. "Master Icarus, for the past hour, I've been injecting my mana directly into your cell, trying to stimulate it and awaken any single mana particle that has been dormant. But it's like throwing seeds on a stone. Your core is completely dry."
The room fell into a quiet silence.
Her voice softened slightly, then, as she shook her head, "I apologize, Master Icarus. But you truly have no potential. If you think about it, you would have already awakened your abilities even if House Phoenix didn't help you. After all, you faced many assassination attempts. And even recently, you went through a near-death experience. If you have any dormant power, it should have already been awakened by now."
Qin Wei sat back, leaning against the edge of his bed, exhaling a long, tired sigh. "Alright… I understand," he said in a tone that seemed like he had resigned to his fate.
But as Vanessa stood and excused herself, turning around to walk away, Qin Wei's facial expression changed as a system chime echoed in his head.
*Ding!
[You received a Quest.]
Quest: Convince your assigned protector that you carry enough potential to be trained.
Reward: 500 credits.
"500 credits?" Qin Wei first blinked at the sudden question, and then a known smirk appeared on his face as he stared at her back.
He then slowly raised his hand and extended his palm outward as he murmured, "Open, Character Interface."
The holographic screen appeared before him. With a thought in his mind, it scrolled down on its own, stopping at the Skills section.
[Celestial Sword of Destiny, Activate]
In the next instant, light erupted from his palm.
Vanessa stopped in her footsteps, sensing something behind. Furrowing his brows, as she glanced to the back, a radiant sword was shot at her.
She stepped aside in reflex, intending to dodge the sword, but the sword suddenly twisted mid-way and pierced her abdomen like lightning.
Vanessa's eyes widened in pure shock.
"You…" Vanessa flinched…
But then she realized that she didn't feel any. There was also no blood or injury despite the fact that the broadsword stabbed into her body and came out from other side. But she felt suppression from her body to her soul.
She couldn't move. Even the mana that was flowing through her meridians froze inside her, locked in place.
Then, just as suddenly, the sword vanished in a burst of fading light.
Vanessa gasped, stumbling a step back as the suppression lifted. She stared at Qin Wei, with her face turning pale in fright and shock.
"Master Icarus… what was that? Are you… a spirit master?"
Qin Wei gave a sheepish smile, scratching his cheek in a bit of embarrassment. "No. I'm really not."
He turned his palm toward her, flexing his fingers lightly. "That sword… It's not exactly mine. It's my uncle's technique called the Celestial Sword of Destiny. Since I don't have mana, I can only use it by channeling someone else's mana. In this case, the trace amount of mana you left in me earlier was used to launch this skill, although it was too little. Hence, I can only summon it for two seconds."
Vanessa stared at him, stunned, buying his bluff. "So… you really can use other people's mana?"
He nodded slightly.
Vanessa remained silent for a moment, trying to absorb the revelation. Qin Wei waited for the quest completion, but the notification hadn't arrived yet.
Instead, with a bit of skepticism in her tone, she walked back to him and extended her hands to him. "I would like to see it again."
Qin Wei nodded calmly and let her put her hands on his chest. As she poured her mana into his body, he confidently raised his hand and spoke in his head, "Activate, Celestial Sword of Destiny."
*Ding!
[The host must speak aloud to unleash the skill using voice activation. I believe the host has already been told about it once.]
Qin Wei clenched his fists and shut his eyes for a moment, controlling his anger, and then, letting out a deep breath, he went on, raising his finger to click on the skill.
But his action surprised Vanessa, who was standing right in front of him, and before his finger touched her, she immediately let go of supplying mana into his body and moved back. She went on covering her body, almost raising her voice, "What the hell are you doing, per… Pervert?" Her cheeks tinged with a blush of pink.
"Eh?" Qin Wei blinked, then stared at her and at his finger. he immediately retracted and apologized, "I'm sorry. It wasn't on purpose."
Vanessa didn't go near and cleared her throat, "Anyway, did you get enough mana..."
Qin Wei immediately reacted by raising his hand and clicking his finger on the skill, although for Vanessa, it felt like he was pointing at her.
In the next second…
[Celestial Sword of Destiny, Activate]
Once again, the golden broadsword made of divinity materialized in front of his chest before flying toward its target like a streak of lightning.
Vanessa, prepared for the attack, motioned her hand forward and opened her palm, generating a shield.
However, the sword pierced the shield into pieces and struck her, piercing her abdomen once again, suppressing her mana completely.
It lasted five seconds as it was intended to be. And during those five seconds, Vanessa realized the extent of the sword's ability.
When it disappeared, and her powers returned, she sighed in relief inwardly and asked. "Master Icarus, why didn't you tell me this before? And since when could you do this?"
Qin Wei's smile faded a little at the question, although it was a part of his action. he then went on speaking a pure white lie as he prepared the excuse beforehand, "Vanessa, this wasn't a power I awakened near death or something. It was something I was born with. However, no one knows about it, apart from my father and my grandpa. Because it's strange in this world to possess a unique constitution that can use others' mana as well as copy one's ability, I was told to keep this secret to myself. And now that my family is no more, I wasn't sure whether to reveal it or not. After all, I was a plainfolk who couldn't protect himself. It's because it's you, I dared to show my ability, because I want you to train me, how to develop this ability while keeping it a secret from the family."
Vanessa's gaze lingered on him with surprise. "And you trust me enough to reveal such a secret?"
Qin Wei's smile returned as he replied. "I believe I am a good judge of character."
Vanessa blushed a little, but then she exhaled, brushing her robes with a practiced hand. "But I am obligated to inform Lord Kaelan," she said before her voice turned serious as she added. "Perhaps… he can find a way to help you."
Qin Wei's expression didn't change much, but his gaze sharpened subtly. He asked. "Can you… not tell the other elders and the others, then? It's best if only my father-in-law knows about this secret."
"Hmm?"