Chapter 96: Genius Lost in Light (5)
cXEs“Master! How did it go? Was the experiment successful?”gWKo8U
DBt“Yes, it was a success! Our magic worked!”zbxx3z
PBxWHHowever, Alpheas couldn’t rejoice. Something was clearly wrong with Erina.795BKIW
YOPW3b“But why is my wife like this? Honey! Snap out of it!”liJ
H2aRdArcane, re-examining the control panel, was shocked. The balance of each item was normal, but the overall bodily rhythm was dropping simultaneously, as if life itself was fading away.w7Igl
GgJyAD“Why is this happening? The clinical trials didn’t go like this.”41nY84u
6OyOJA“Honey! Erina! Open your eyes!”AIERCpN
0yvC9vErina half-opened her eyes, showing a faint smile.M3o
heQNitn“Honey I’m okay.”NNiVm
en72“Erina! What’s wrong? Are you hurt?”zz7NB
HPja“There was a rejection reaction starting from the terminal nerves. It seems the human brain has something different. But you’ve achieved something remarkable. With a little more research Ugh!”hPH
DepZZdErina gasped for air and convulsed.oejBh
NgMscI“Honey! Don’t talk! I’ll try to do something! I’ll save you, no matter what!”wMa
skjf7v9Alpheas, realizing the irreversibility of the situation, cursed his own intellectual ability. But he had no choice but to say those words.x6TGLK
HYSErina slowly shook her head, knowing what her husband knew.KJjRl
mEhIDV“Honey hold my hand.”vWES
VhLnAlpheas tightly grasped his wife’s hand. He would have tried anything if there was even a 1% chance. But now, all he could do was stay by her side.wXa
ngWJnA“Erina, this can’t be happening. How can this?”Mitd
9VFzPijErina smiled sadly.UoR29
3DGVG1Q“Honey, I’m sorry.”csiF4FY
fAP“Sorry for what? What did you do?”Ic7
MtdYK“For being a fool.”etQFq
uDtxLgAlpheas’s heart tore apart. Trying to change her, forgetting her words that her mere existence was beautiful.6X1Hif
0Y0“No Why are you sorry? What are you sorry for! I’m the fool! It was me!”7MCrSQt
QfssG“Meeting you was a blessing.”rVM4im
jWiErina finally understood her husband. A wonderful world governed by rationality. She was happy to have shared his memories, even for a short while.4iKIWe
H3d“Honey! Open your eyes! Please I was wrong, honey!”5h54e
KxVAs Erina’s eyes closed, Alpheas held her face and wailed.cMn
vV7o“Uwaaaa! Honey! Honey!”v099
GxlArcane, with a somber expression, bowed his head. How is the human brain different from animals? The tragedy could have been avoided with initial human experimentation.7TP
R2mvoOHBut it was a meaningless conjecture. Erina’s only condition for allowing herself to be experimented on was never to experiment on others.74Ei2c
kxxRTherefore, the effort was even more devoted. The data obtained so far would be precious for humanity.lpCJQrq
F6hc“I’m sorry. Your sacrifice won’t be in vain.”92r
C4bkIA dull thud sounded. Turning his head, Arcane saw Alpheas hitting his head against the wall.YPu31
4VLux“Uwaaaa!”uVS
tuY9PreWith each collision, the sound of breaking echoed. It was unclear whether the wall or his head was breaking.g8E
hdA1VP“What? Light of the Myrhe family? Light? Light!”FP5uv20
ND6YzwThud! Thud! Thud!AvZP
goTAlpheas, repeatedly hitting his head, bounced back like a rubber ball. But he didn’t stop. The horror of surviving alone without his wife overwhelmed him.VV9
KzFjwj“Arrogant Alpheas!”trq
U0hisAlpheas charged at the wall again.2zfYD4
WdKThud!7ZeOCE
l8IzZQeKlumph grabbed Alpheas. Left alone, he would surely die.QBkg1
DUrRyt“Alpheas! Snap out of it! What are you doing!”7xk
bbiesuS“Let go! Dammit! Uwaaaa!”fyv5rZ
K6OT6EEven Klumph’s strength struggled to restrain Alpheas. It seemed he was burning his soul, rushing toward death. Eventually, overcome with shock, his eyes rolled back and he lost consciousness.UY4
2prEJlm“Erina. Erina.”j5dk
0MojNKlumph wept at the sight of Alpheas calling his wife’s name even in unconsciousness.SDC4
p0fgYYErina’s funeral was held. Only family members gathered, and Alpheas was prevented from attending by relatives. Without a formal wedding or descendants, the couple parted as strangers in the end.vIZdY
SRHAlpheas sat listlessly in front of the funeral hall. As evening fell, he got up like a man out of his mind and walked somewhere.ynX
WUAHe arrived at Arcane’s dungeon. The equipment used for countless experiments over two years remained untouched.EsUo
AdyhGS“Erina.”eoyII
IJ8QAlpheas carried a can of oil, spreading it throughout the lab. Tears flowed with every splash of oil, reminding him of the moments he had shared with her, as vivid as yesterday.xHawn
poJbqWhen the oil can emptied, Alpheas slumped against a wall. Knowledge that should not exist in the world. How could humans conduct such cruel experiments?fSQJz
uqO4“Have you come, Alpheas?”nB69i
b7fArcane entered the lab. He knew Alpheas wasn’t invited to the funeral. This place was essentially Erina’s grave for him.Jpg6VR
RkY8pWk“I regret what happened to Erina. Take some time to recuperate. And then come back to…”5cEt
0nnOv5Arcane paused, sensing something amiss. The smell of oil was too strong for a mere leak.Nh9AU
iZbJGhO“Alpheas you’re not…?”JBy4Rl
HYtEmtAlpheas stood with dark eyes. A single fire spell would blow up the lab.FNTN
DxZ“No! What are you doing!”SJXt
dotf“Master, we should never have started this.”DZP4tXM
1UIr“Even if weakened by your wife’s death, no! It’s not true! The experiment was almost successful! Have you forgotten Erina’s legacy? Destroying this place is to ignore her sacrifice!”Y7EF1N
vR6deha“It doesn’t matter. Without my wife… there’s nothing left for me.”jk8OQRm
1v2b1g“Still, you can’t! This is not only yours and Erina’s. My life’s knowledge is accumulated here! You can’t destroy it without my permission.”sz4MgT
ESBkCCxAlpheas cast a flame spell. Arcane absorbed it with dark magic, but the temperature had already risen past the ignition point.oH3s
MXAFlames enveloped the room.duZz
57oThousands of documents, precision magic devices, and dangerous alchemical materials were transformed.FK5J
gtQHeAlpheas watched the flames impassively and left the dungeon.15O0
LiUSLeBut Arcane couldn’t leave. He had to extinguish the fire. Even if everything was lost, the experimental data had to be saved.yF1z
pr6W3M“No, no!”OHZ
H3NwUKRunning through the flames, Arcane tried to save the documents. Then, an explosion occurred as the fire reached a box of volatile chemicals.FTdu
H0tjmThe lab was destroyed, and the entire underground dungeon shook with the impact.FpK
oSXThe fire, greedily consuming the air, raced through the tunnels.uPjvzt
2S0KWz“Uwaaaa! Alpheas! I won’t forgive you, Alpheas!”OB8PHbl
zEpArcane ground his teeth in anger. Losing his life’s work just before completion was more frustrating and grievous than death.hy57
MBJdO“I will survive… I will survive and take my revenge. Wait for me, Alpheas!”fzb
Z8HH4Even while being consumed by flames, Arcane seethed with hatred for Alpheas. Alpheas had been arrogant to the very end.FRPj
1MCzSurviving on the sole thought of revenge, Arcane conserved his strength while mobilizing his network to scour the continent. However, no one knew of Alpheas’ whereabouts.GFGGAEm
dtCwAIt was seven years later when Alpheas reappeared in the world.xvmzL
uv5wHe was in the main house of the Orgent family in the city of Creas.SDH35
kcquBN“Alpheas! Hey, man! What happened to you?”nsTjgh
JbRCXKlumph stared dumbfoundedly at Alpheas, who had become unrecognizable. His once neat appearance was replaced by a wild, bearded look. Wearing rags, his skin was burnt black.HSp
3nPauKlumph took Alpheas to the bathroom and personally washed him. Numerous scars were etched on his body: wounds from wild beasts, torture, and clear self-inflicted ones.NVLEzu
IOH31“Were you wandering around looking for a place to die?”GMPF
hHRFRzZAlpheas, with his wet hair covering his face, remained silent. After a long while, he finally spoke.UBF0hBX
tBf5“I didn’t particularly want to die. Nor did I want to live. I just wandered aimlessly.”hQCOmF
8GGt0F“Right”kUaxp
e2xTa“I heard the news. You became an official inspector. Congratulations.”Z6vsZb
SWa“Congrats between us? I’m the latest of our peers, man.”5ZaQKn4
oDZYEKlumph awkwardly responded. The achievement felt less impressive, knowing what his friend had gone through.qG6G
8SWVM7Q“Sorry. I had nowhere else to go. I need to impose on you for a while.”pq847
WeYMKlumph sadly gazed at Alpheas’ emaciated back.Z3q
u8TEOAtHow had he come to this?aaHsf
kXDOnce hailed as a rising star of the magical world, Alpheas was now a vagrant, shunned even by his own family.1ybD
eBumKgzAfter the bath, Klumph had the maids prepare a meal. But Alpheas could hardly eat, his stomach having shrunk too much.iOVLbi
wCtmKlumph knew it wasn’t just because Alpheas had nowhere else to go.xNzr0AJ
AuFTaking Alpheas to the study, Klumph poured him a drink. Alpheas didn’t even look at the alcohol but briefly flashed the same sharp gaze he had seven years ago.qrGuIOz
pSdL“Talk to me. You’ve ended your wanderings, so you must have plans. You need to get back on your feet. I’ll help you.”cnN
3PRYac1Alpheas bluntly said.fEhBg
ce1HKu“Lend me 100 million gold.”sFGFXOi
fuU“100 million gold?”JjY
3Mgy3An astronomical sum.GcQ0
GIBJCKlumph, having passed the official exam, was in line to succeed as family head. But even as head, there were limits to what he could lend.VavhW
Nj6jO“Not at once. I’ll withdraw it over four years. Hire a financial advisor. With a monthly limit of 7 million, it should be manageable without significant impact. I’ll pay interest too. But no compound interest. Set the annual rate at 20%. I can start repaying the principal after a year.”Rs0LkX
ymd1While the lender usually sets the terms, Klumph didn’t mind. He knew Alpheas would have optimized the deal before even arriving.XErii3Q
l7e89Effectively, it meant earning 80 million gold in profits over four years, besides the principal. Klumph was more curious about how Alpheas planned to achieve this.qSAw02
f2Cpdf“What’s the plan? Developed a new spell or something?”fbdZr
K1czsNoAlpheas shook his head.FwfjCn
FtWocXa“I’ve lost all passion.”bYy
AmePs1“Then what will you do with 100 million gold?”UbDkBs
TnzIv4“I’m going to build a school.”9fPBxks
1yFkc“A school?”vnxE08o
JkJpKlumph’s eyes widened. Alpheas, who always considered himself the best, was planning to teach others.xXFTwBW
QrOAzYQ“What are you thinking?”JkDUMq0
Oi3WZdmSeeing tears on Alpheas’ cheeks, Klumph couldn’t finish his sentence.9R2RZAm
gTZE“I mustn’t let another like me arise. I’ll teach students, atoning until my last breath. Ensuring no one’s talent gets trampled by a moment’s mistake, I’ll live devouring my pain.”nOWA8K
kOaY70Alpheas covered his face with his hands, sobbing uncontrollably, yet unable to stop the tears.wGuMZ
PUKSkRoKlumph’s eyes reddened too.2qa
VekL88Erina Bastadd. Alpheas would probably never forget her. He might suffer for a lifetime.n2U6zCz
yxwAPzBut that made the decision easier.vCZJC
nuBgHAIf Alpheas’ pain could transform into someone’s growth, if that could truly happen, then this friend, who once dreamed of success and happiness, might smile again someday.50fx
KJUnkLT“I’ll lend it. 100 million gold.”as9
ECPyDXAlpheas named the school after himself in Creas City. He worked as a mage during construction, paying off the interest, and studied at night to get a teaching certificate.rC5Jt0P
EPQvit2Four years later.HnL0
R4uAlpheas, the headmaster of the Alpheas Magic Academy, repaid 180 million gold to the Orgent family.XzT
7gjsqAs the effects of Abyss Nova completely faded, Alpheas slowly opened his eyes. With all memories returned, he remained silent for a long time. The 40 years he had relived were so lengthy and burdensome.m9yWHYi
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