That afternoon, inside his house, Alsie and Yumina were busy preparing a meal—or at least trying to. Meanwhile, John sat in the corner on a wooden chair, his eyes fixed on the crimson core resting on the table before him. The core emitted an ominous presence, making anyone feel uneasy just by looking at it.
John had been staring at it for quite some time. He had already decided to use the core for one of his projects, but there was a problem—the negative energy and evil aura trapped inside it.
His plan was simple: use the core as a medium, combine it with other materials, and forge a weapon for himself. Not just any weapon, but one that could change shape on command. The crimson core would serve as the weapon's power source which can recharge itself. But the question remained—how to purify it? Could it even be purified?
Since John acquired the core a few hours ago, it had tried to regenerate a couple of times. Fortunately, John's presence alone seemed to suppress its attempts.
"This is such a headache... I'll think about it later," John muttered in frustration. Shaking his head, he placed the core inside a sealed wooden box for safekeeping.
Just as he secured the box, Alsie and Yumina entered the hall carrying the meal they had prepared.
Seeing the girls, an idea crossed John's mind, and he smiled.
"Come," he said with a grin. "After lunch, we'll start your magical journey."
"Really, John? Awesome!" Yumina cheered, throwing her fist in the air.
Alsie's reaction was more reserved. Her expression remained calm, but her eyes shone with excitement. Although she loved her null magic ability, 'Boost,' the thought of learning different types of magic intrigued her.
After lunch, the trio sat facing each other. Alsie and Yumina waited eagerly, their eyes full of anticipation.
"Alright," John began. "In my country, almost everyone can learn magic—if they want to. The reason this method hasn't spread worldwide is because it's extremely unique. Once someone masters this method, they can wield any elemental magic or null magic."
"That's incredible!" Yumina exclaimed in surprise.
"Of course," John continued, "even in my country, only the wealthy know about this method. If it were to spread freely, the balance of power would crumble in just a few years. That's why I need you both to promise me something—don't share this method with anyone outside of your family."
John's expression turned serious. "Can you promise me that?"
In truth, John wasn't too concerned about this method spreading. Without unique rune obtained by john, others wouldn't get far with it. But the girls didn't need to know that.
"We promise," Alsie said firmly. "But are you sure you want to teach us something so valuable? If it puts you at risk, I'd rather not learn it."
"Me too," Yumina added with concern.
John smiled warmly. "Don't worry. The fact that I'm willing to teach you means I already see you as family. Even if you betray me one day, I wouldn't hold it against you."
Hearing this, both girls felt a warmth in their hearts. They had already decided to follow John, and now there was no turning back. Even if John left them someday, they knew they wouldn't be able to accept another person in their hearts.
"Alright then," John said, clapping his hands. "Let's get started. First, you both need to open your spiritual sea."
"What's a spiritual sea?" Alsie and Yumina asked simultaneously, looking confused.
"It's a mental or spiritual dimension inside your consciousness—a place where your mental power, soul energy, or spiritual awareness exists," John explained. "We need to open it first, but I'll explain the reason later."
"Normally, a spiritual sea can be opened with a spiritual potion," John continued, "but since I don't have one right now, I'll open yours manually."
He extended his hand and placed his palm on Alsie's forehead.
"Will it hurt?" Alsie asked nervously.
"Don't worry," John reassured her with a smile. "You won't feel a thing."
Thanks to his past experience, John managed to open the spiritual seas of both girls without any issues. However, what talent they would awaken remained unknown.
When John opened Pepper's spiritual sea before, she had awakened her talent immediately. On the other hand, Happy took three days to awaken his. John still didn't know why there was such a difference, but it didn't matter much.
Moments after their spiritual seas were opened, Alsie and Yumina suddenly collapsed to the floor, unconscious.
John raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Amazing..." he muttered.
From what John had seen so far, the faster someone awakened their talent after opening their spiritual sea, the stronger their talent would be.
Happy, who had awakened his talent three days later, only received the ability called 'Emotionless State.' Although it sounded impressive, it provided no real benefits—essentially a useless talent. Despite that, Happy was still content with it.
On the other hand, Pepper had awakened an incredible talent that made John jealous—eidetic memory. Now, no matter what she saw or read, she could never forget it, even if she wanted to.
Looking at the unconscious girls, John smiled.
"I wonder what your talents will be," he muttered with curiosity.
But just as he finished muttering, both girls' bodies started to shake violently while a crimson light began glowing around them.
John became serious as he observed this phenomenon because he had never seen anything like it before. But that wasn't the end. A few seconds later, a massive virtual image appeared behind them.
Behind Alsie was a three-headed lion roaring at the sky, and behind Yumina was a red bird spewing fire from its body.
"What the hell is going on?" John was completely confused at this moment.
However, it didn't take long for everything to return to normal, as if nothing had happened just a second ago. Feeling a little apprehensive, John began to wait for them to wake up and explain what was going on.