“Okay,” I’d kind of expected that answer. I scooted myself off towards the opposite corner of the room and got out some paper and a stick of charcoal for taking notes.
Meanwhile, Illiel made her preparations.
The first thing she did was fetch another of those extremely low tables. The kind that I originally thought were benches. They were Eastern-themed, the kind you’d see in a movie about feudal Japan. Illiel knelt on a pillow before it.
On the table in front of her she placed a large strip of cloth, a bowl of water, and what appeared to be a ceremonial knife. Without warning, she stripped her shirt off, exposing her small but perky breasts.
I blinked in surprise, but Illiel didn’t react at all. The serenity of the moment was upon her.
She dipped the cloth into the bowl of water, wetting it, and began rubbing it all over her stomach. It was then that I realized the bowl wasn’t filled with water at all. It was filled with blood.
“This is the blood of a mystic beast,” Illiel said, having sensed my question. “A flame eagle, distantly related to the phoenix, whose blood is widely regarded to be the best for this purpose. It is innately high in vitality, which is important at minimizing the damage to the body during the merging process.”
I added that to my notes for my own advancement. Blood of a mystic beast high in vitality.
After Illiel’s stomach was painted red, she picked up the bowl by its two arms and slowly brought it to her lips. She drank deeply from the bowl, and I could hear her gulping from across the room. She didn’t stop to breathe or wipe off the animal blood that was dripping off her face.
Apply blood to the stomach and drink the remaining blood. Two to three liters total.
“It is important to saturate the entire abdomen with vitality, which becomes life zeal as it frays and degrades. Some of that can be used by the flesh , and it will make the process of merging with your spellheart more likely to succeed. Or at least less likely to kill you.”
I nodded, even though I didn’t really understand what was going on. “Now what?”
“Now I meditate and attempt to direct the flood of life zeal that has been introduced to my body. Be quiet for now. I must concentrate. Many an elf has died from taking too much life zeal into them.”
I shut my mouth and simply watched. Nothing appeared to be happening on the physical level. I called upon that same power I’d recently discovered and tried to wield mage sight, hoping that with it I’d be able to see what was going on.
Streams of glowing life zeal pumped through Illiel’s body. It was inside of her, like a river, pulsing with her blood and rapidly spreading to her organs. Most of it was focused in her stomach and abdomen, and it appeared that was where she was trying to keep it. The blood itself wanted to spread out, to fuse with every part of her, but Illiel’s efforts held it in place.
I saw several regions where the life zeal was getting away from her. In those places, tiny little growths were forming, like little tumors. As Illiel turned her attention towards them they began to shrivel up and die, but she was only barely keeping pace with them.
The whole time I remained silent, but diligently took notes. Illiel was keeping control over the life zeal spreading throughout her body, but bit by bit more of it was slipping through her fingers. If this continued for too long, she might risk losing control entirely. But at the same time, under Illiel’s direction, the life zeal was reinforcing selective points in her body. I didn’t work with life zeal, so I couldn’t be certain, but it looked like she was preparing her cells to heal from a large amount of damage.
After what must have been around half an hour, Illiel opened her eyes and picked up the ceremonial bronze knife. I’d been wondering when that thing was going to come into play.
She held the knife in front of her pointed directly up in the air as she took several deep breaths. Her stomach wasn’t as toned as Sava’s, and definitely not Yorik’s, but it was still taught with the tension and fear that was visible on her face. I could see her trying to relax the muscles in that area. After the fifth breath, she suddenly reversed the blade of the knife, so the blade was facing downward.
Before I could even shout, she plunged the knife into her own stomach, and dragged downward with a vicious cutting motion.
Blood poured out like it was a fountain as I watched on in horror. I wasn’t sure how much of it was her own and how much of it was the blood she drank. With shaking hands, Illiel picked up the mind spellheart and pushed it against the gaping wound. The incision was only just big enough.
Illiel pushed the spellheart inside the hole. Once the last of it vanished into her abdomen, she picked up the eagle blood soaked cloth from earlier and held it over the wound, concentrating. Life zeal poured abundantly from the soaked cloth, where the spellheart had been inserted. Illiel’s flesh pulsed and writhed as her body rebelled against the foreign material. The spellheart itself also rebelled, releasing waves of zeal as it fused that were almost visible to the naked eye. Only the vitality she’d just consumed allowed her body to heal itself from the damage the spellheart was doing as it ravaged her insides. Bit by bit, moment by moment, Illiel’s will clamped down on the spellheart, hammering it into what the elves called a dantain.
This must have been what all that life zeal was for. To ensure that she’d be able to survive self-evisceration.
With my mage sight, I could see a war waging within her. I didn’t dare breathe, blink, or speak. With my mage sight I could see how precarious this moment was for Illiel, and I could only hold my breath and wait.
The spellheart was there, and yet at the same time it was not there. The natural zeal of the spellheart was frantically pulsing through her body, at war with the natural zeal of Illiel’s body.
Though the clashing zeal wasn’t entirely compatible, they were both subject to Illiel’s will. She was bound to the mind spellheart and was the sole ruler of her body. With each passing moment, she was trying to force the two competing zeals to get along. More than that, she wanted to force them to merge together.
Minutes passed, and my worry grew, but slowly, bit by bit, the wound began to close.
I bowed my head. Illiel’s eyes were scrunched in concentration. It appeared the worst was over, and all she needed was somewhere quiet to concentrate. I lifted her onto the only cot in the room. She was sweating heavily, and her skin was hot to the touch.
At some point, one of the Songstone Clan members had entered the chamber. She cleaned up the spilled blood and brought food for the both of us, though she didn’t dare disturb Illiel on the cot. She came with a bag full of bandages and other medical supplies. A healer then.
“How long will it be until we know for certain if she succeeded or failed?” I asked the healer.
“Usually it is apparent within the first day, but sometimes those trying to fuse particularly large or pure spellhearts will take several days to stabilize. Just try to occupy yourself for a little while. Go, I will tend to her and deal with anything that might come up.”
I nodded and gathered up some of the vials and beakers I’d used earlier before leaving the room.
Yulli relocated me to another room. She knew that Illiel would need her space, and I wouldn’t be able to train effectively if she was fighting for her life just a few paces from me.
I’d gathered up the glass containers I’d snatched earlier and brought them with me to my new room, intending to enhance my earth spellheart in the same way that I’d enhanced my mind spellheart.
Luckily, earth aspect mystic beasts were far easier to find than their mind aspect counter parts, and just by asking around I was able to obtain a few tiny fragments from the clan’s supply caches.
And then I repeated my procedure. Lye didn’t seem to work as well on earth spellhearts as it did on my mind spellheart. The earth spellheart I was holding was harder and more angular. It didn’t have the same plasticity that the mind spellheart had.
But despite that the process was working. I
might have had higher losses, but I managed to dissolve all the little scraps of earth spellheart and created an elixir of reddish-brown liquid.
Just before the zeal particles were about to precipitate and crystallize on their own I introduced my own earth-aspect spellheart. It plopped in, almost splashing some liquid elixir out of the beaker. I’d need to get some forceps to stop the splashing. Or maybe just some sticks would do. Although the nature zeal from the sticks might contaminate my elixir, since wood contained a combination of zeals, mainly life and earth but many others as well.
Wait a moment... dirt contained earth zeal. Not in as high a concentration as a spellheart but it was there. Maybe it would be possible to simply start digging and turn shovelfuls of dirt into earth-aspect elixir to add to my spellheart? That was an experiment I’d have to try.
After my elixir was made, I concentrated on my spellheart. This went in much the same way as the procedure for condensing my mind spellheart. I simply impressed my will on that tiny vial of elixir and called it all towards my spellheart, where it slowly collected and added to my power.
This vial had enough concentrated zeal for me to cast spells for days on end. It was more than sufficient to reshape my previously small earth spellheart into something bigger.
I also sensed a different change in the spellheart as more earth zeal crystallized around it. Before the zeal of my spellheart had felt like mud. It had been small and grainy but not entirely solid, not just in physical texture but in terms of the magical sensation it gave me when I used it. It had taken work to get something that was reasonably hard and strong.
But now the earth spellheart was different. It felt as though while before I had a spellheart that was primarily made of the aspect of dirt, now I had a range of aspects across the spectrum. They all fell under the broad category of ‘earth’ and were reasonably compatible with each other, but each aspect was distinct in its own right.
Some of it would be easier to use to make a wall. Another region of the spellheart was slow to move and hard to work with, but if I used it properly, the result would be as hard as stone. Another felt like it was brittle, almost like glass or obsidian.
I opted to keep this medley of different aspects separate, so I could draw on each one at need. Sure, I could mix them all together and get a final product that was better than anything, but I sensed I might lose some of the uniqueness of each individual type of aspect. I had the choice between keeping a general jack-of-all-trades zeal aspect, or dozens of lesser aspects that would be a bit better at their specific tasks. Somehow, I got the sensation that I’d just barely touched on something profound, something elves at even the mage acolyte realm wouldn’t be able to see or sense. Perhaps this would be an advantage someday, but for now I didn’t know enough about cultivation to exploit it.
I briefly wondered if this same thing had been present with my mind spellheart. Maybe it wasn’t, or maybe it was, and I simply wasn’t able to spot the differences. I’d have to look for it myself.
Just as I was finishing up refining my earth spellheart, the healer who had assisted with Illiel’s advancement came to fetch me.
“She’s awake now, if you want to see her.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
WHEN I MADE my way to Illiel she was sitting up. She still wasn’t wearing a shirt, which I think she realized when I walked into the room. The moment we locked eyes her hands pulled the blanket all the way up to her neck.
“Are you alright?”
Illiel smiled. “Better than ever, actually. You’re in the presence of a mage acolyte now! Maybe if I’m in a good mood, I’ll give you some pointers, junior brother!”
I laughed. It was good to see she was doing well. “Say, what is all this I’m always hearing. The ‘junior sister this’ or ‘elder sister that’?”
“It’s a popular custom within clans and sects. Everyone is supposed to be part of one big family. In the cultivation world, cultivation rank usually goes hand in hand with age. Even when it doesn’t, someone at a higher cultivation rank than you is your elder brother or sister. Anyone lower than you is your younger brother or sister.”
“Ah, makes sense. They’re honorifics meant to breed familiarity,” I sat down at the foot of the bed. “So, what does it feel like to break into the mage acolyte ranks?”
Illiel shrugged. “Honestly? Not that different. The main thing is that my spellheart is actually part of my body now. It’s like I’m always using it, as opposed to only getting that feeling when I’m actively casting a spell with it.”
“So, do you have mage sight now?”
“The healer told me not to try anything for a few days. Not until my body has stabilized a little. Too much mind zeal running through my body could cause a bad reaction, putting me back into the state I was in earlier.”
“Got it, so no heavy lifting for you for a while.”
“That’s right. Rest and relaxation for me. Or rather, constantly pretending to be doing alchemy so your Yulli doesn’t execute me. Speaking of, why didn’t you tell her you were the alchemist rather than me?”
“Yulli is a little quick to call on her fire zeal. Making her think you were a valuable alchemist will stay her hand for a while.”
“You know she’ll find out eventually, right?”
“Probably, but not for a while. Sure, she’ll eventually figure out that I’m the one who does the alchemy, but she hasn’t made a habit of talking to the servants thus far, besides giving them orders. And most of them seem to be too afraid to talk in her presence without her permission. I imagine it will be at least a week before she figures it out. By then, I hope you’ll be a familiar enough face that she won’t react rashly. And besides, you do know a little alchemy, so it wasn’t like I was lying.”
“Yes, but I’m not a very good alchemist, despite my mother’s expensive tutoring. My talent pales before yours,” Illiel said sadly.
“You can get good at anything if you practice it enough. But besides that, you know a lot of techniques relevant to working with zeal that I haven’t even heard about. I’ll still need your mentorship for a while yet.”
“Well, you‘ll have it. I guess I’m stuck here for a while after all,” Illiel laughed, “but at least I have you,” she leaned closer to me, letting the blanket drop, revealing her perky exposed breasts once again.
I examined her again. She was beautiful by earthly standards. She had the thin elvish build and an angular face framed by long brownish-blond hair. Her skin was fair, and like all elves, it was smooth and completely flawless. My own body had improved significantly just from exposure to the zeal in this world, but it still didn’t feel like it was on the same level as hers.
Peeking up from under the corner of the blankets was a long and thin scar. That was exactly where the bronze knife had sliced into Illiel’s flesh. The healer Yulli provided proved her worth as a mage acolyte, because if I hadn’t seen the wound the previous day I would have thought it was six months old.
“May I?” I asked as my fingers grasped the edge of the blanket.
Illiel nodded, leaning back on her arms to give me easy access to her abdomen.
I pulled the blanket back slowly, revealing her full stomach. The scar extended about the width of my hand, just to the right of her belly button. Why did elves have belly buttons? They weren’t born like humans.
I traced my hand along her smooth flat stomach, enjoying the feel of her skin. Illiel smiled at me. In fact, it looked like she was enjoying my attention a great deal.
“Why don’t you kiss it and make it better for me?” Illiel asked shyly.
Encouraged to continue, I leaned forward and gave the wound a big, sloppy kiss. Illiel’s skin was soft and smooth, and it was pleasant to press my lips against. I’d experienced the same sensation with Sava. I began to speculate that all elves had skin that simply felt good to lick. Further study was required.
I trailed my kisses up and down the scar that made her a mage acolyte and glanced up to see I
lliel breathing softly and looking down at me with gentle eyes.
Illiel shifted her legs, pushing the blanket further back with her feet. The process served to reveal a little pair of lower lips and the gap between Illiel’s legs. The mage acolyte blushed, but the message was clear.
And so, I moved my attention to her upper thighs, flicking at them with my tongue. Illiel threw back her head and leaned backwards. I continued to tease her. Soon, I saw a few drops of wet lubricant accumulating along the opening to her maidenhood. Illiel opened her legs wider, giving me free access to her nether regions, but I continued to ignore them. Her dripping pussy was begging for my attention, but it would have to wait a little longer.
Eventually, Illiel just couldn’t take the teasing anymore. She reached up with one of her hands and grabbed the back of my head, pushing it towards her crotch. Except she pushed way too hard, and I ended up having my face mushed against her groin.
She pulled with surprising strength and speed. There was power in her that far exceeded her size and physique.
“Sorry!” She yelped. “It seems my advancement made me a bit stronger. I haven’t learned to gauge it yet.”
“Mmmfh!” I said as my mouth was covered by her lower lips. Once she saw I was okay, we both shared a small laugh.
I planted a series of small kisses around her slit before diving in tongue first. I mouthed the sounds of the alphabet as I nipped at her maidenhood. She particularly loved the way my lips moved when I made a ‘buh’ sound. Something about the vibrations I think.
She moaned and gasped.
“Ooh! Yes, more Theo!” she squealed as I licked her slit. Her whole body shuddered, and I felt her powerful thighs go tight as she orgasmed.
I considered that her warm up. By now, I was sporting a rock-hard erection. I wasn’t certain, but suspected the zeal of this world had bolstered my size down below by a finger length or two. In any case, my performance was certainly enhanced.
Zeal of the Mind and Flesh: A Cultivating Gamelit Harem Adventure (Spellheart Book 1) Page 30